Quick-thinking teller ends kidnap ordeal

An alleged extortion of two kidnapped men ended at an Auckland bank yesterday when one of the victims slipped a note to a teller asking for help.

Thinking quickly, the teller said she had to go to the back of the bank to get the cash, but she spoke to a security guard, who in turn called police.

The victims, who knew each other, had been abducted from Denny's Restaurant in New Lynn late on Tuesday by four Chinese nationals. At least one of the abductors was known to one of the victims.

Detective Sergeant Richard Kapa said the men were driven to a Greenlane hotel, where their lives were threatened and demands made for thousands of dollars.

Yesterday morning, one of the victims was taken to the ASB Bank in Otahuhu and the other was driven to the National Bank in Newmarket.

Two men went with each victim.

At Otahuhu, the first victim entered the bank and withdrew an undisclosed cash sum.

But the extortion plan came unstuck at Newmarket when the second victim passed the bank teller a note asking her to call police.

The plea for help is understood to have been written on a withdrawal slip the victim was made to fill in to get money from his account.

Shortly after the teller told the security guard, the police helicopter was hovering over the bank and police cars surrounded the entrance.

One woman, who did not want to be named, said several officers surrounded a white car parked outside.

About 15 minutes later an Asian man was pulled from the car, searched and arrested. Police say a second man who was in the bank when they arrived was also arrested.

A third man was found walking along Carlton Gore Rd. The fourth was spotted sitting in a car parked on Khyber Pass Rd.

The two victims were found safe - one still in the bank and the other nearby. Mr Kapa said they were traumatised but not injured during their ordeal.

Four men, aged 20 to 22, are due to appear in the Auckland District Court today. They each face two counts of kidnapping and police say more serious charges may be laid.

Their arrests came on the same day four other Asian men appeared in the Manukau District Court in relation to the kidnapping of a Chinese woman in March.

Detective Tim Chao, of the Asian Crime Unit, said kidnapping and extortions appeared to be more widespread in the Asian community than other sectors of the population. He could not give the exact number of such cases but said there were probably many that were not reported.

Robert Reid, of the National Bank, said he was "extremely proud" of the way staff handled yesterday's events.

An ASB spokeswoman said it was only when police arrived at the Otahuhu branch asking for security camera footage that staff realised what had happened.