5 men arrested in abduction of teen in March

Toronto police say five men are in custody in connection with the abduction of a 14-year-old boy that sparked an Amber Alert in March.

Police said the boy was last seen in the area of Jane Street and Driftwood Avenue at around 8:25 a.m. on March 4 while walking to school. It was then that police said “two to three males” forced the boy into a black Jeep Wrangler.

He was allegedly restrained and held in a remote location in Brampton while the Jeep was taken to an area near Forks of the Credit Provincial Park and burned.

The boy was later found safe the next night at a rural property on Heritage Road in Brampton.

Police later said the victim’s abduction was linked to his brother’s drug debt to one of the men.

At the time, police said the deal in question dates back to the summer of 2019 and involves 100 kilograms of cocaine with an approximate value of $4 million.

Multiple search warrants have since been executed and resulted in the arrest of four men allegedly involved in the abduction. A fifth man was arrested during one of the search warrants and is facing drug charges, but was not believed to be involved with the abduction.

Police also allegedly seized one kilogram of cocaine, more than 70 pounds of marijuana, $130,000 in cash and body armour.

Samir Abdelgadir, 38, of Mississauga, Hamed Shahnawaz, 30 of Brampton, and Liban Hussein, 25, of Toronto are also facing a number of charges including kidnapping for ransom, forcible confinement, arson and uttering death threats.

Scott McManus, 37, of Toronto has been charged with conspiracy to commit an indictable offence (kidnapping for ransom and traffic cocaine) and multiple drug charges.

Solaiman Nassimi, 29, of no fixed address turned himself in to police late Thursday. He is facing several charges including kidnapping, forcible confinement and arson.