Israeli Kidnapped in Ormond
AN Israeli restaurateur who was kidnapped outside his cafe in Ormond last week has spoken to The AJN about the six-hour nightmare he endured, which saw him physically assaulted while his home was ransacked.
AN Israeli restaurateur who was kidnapped outside his cafe in Ormond last week has spoken to The AJN about the six-hour nightmare he endured, which saw him physically assaulted while his home was ransacked.
At around 10pm on Thursday night, a gold-coloured vehicle stopped alongside Gili’s Cafe, a popular meeting place for Israeli expats on North Road. Two men, claiming to be undercover policemen, grabbed Gili Nachum, tied his hands and forced him into the back of the car with his head between his knees and covered in a blanket.
“I felt fear and surprise. I never imagined such a thing could happen to me,” Nachum told The AJN.
As they drove around, the two men said other police teams were searching through the cafe and his home. “They said that I had been under surveillance. But after awhile I understood these were not cops”, said Nachum.
The attackers demanded Nachum disclose the location of money he’d earned in various businesses, threatening to kill him if he refused to tell them its whereabouts. During the course of the journey, the car stopped several times while the driver made phone calls, apparently in an attempt to confirm or refute information with his accomplices, who were searching the victim’s home.
The ordeal ended after Nachum’s house in St Kilda East was looted. He was then dumped at a car park near Lower Dandenong Road, Braeside, at around 4.30am, where he was hit with a blunt object. After fleeing the scene, he flagged down a passing motorist who alerted the police. Nachum was then taken to The Alfred hospital suffering from a fractured skull and a broken nose.
While police have reportedly said the kidnappers knew Nachum and that it was a targeted assault, he denies knowing them or of any motive for the attack. Calling on members of the community to come to his cafe, Nachum reassured them it was safe. “The place is secure and peaceful as always, and we have also introduced new security means to the cafe.”
Police have issued descriptions of the two men behind the attack. The driver is described as Caucasian in appearance, approximately 33 years old, 175 centimetres tall with a thin build, dark eyes and short black hair.
His passenger is described as Caucasian in appearance, aged in his early 30s, with a slight Scottish or Irish accent. He has blue eyes, is about 185 centimetres tall, and unshaven with short blonde hair.
RAN PORAT
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