SYDNEY, July 14 (Xinhua) -- Four men, including the alleged ringleader, have been charged over the February mistaken identity kidnapping and murder of a Sydney grandfather, police said on Tuesday.
The body of 85-year-old Chris Baghsarian was located in February, 11 days after he was kidnapped from his northern Sydney home in what police have described as a case of mistaken identity.
The police force in the Australian state of New South Wales (NSW) said in a statement on Tuesday that a 32-year-old man alleged to have coordinated the kidnapping and murder has been arrested.
The same man was previously arrested in February for supplying drugs and possessing an unregistered firearm following an unrelated investigation.
Over the course of that investigation, detectives uncovered evidence that the 32-year-old had coordinated and participated in the kidnapping and murder. He was arrested on July 8 and charged with murder and detaining someone with intent to ransom.
Three more men, aged 19, 21 and 22, were arrested on Thursday and Monday and were subsequently charged with offenses relating to the kidnapping and murder.
It takes the total number of people charged by police investigating Baghsarian's death to 11.
Police said at the time of Baghsarian's kidnapping that the intended target of the kidnapping was believed to be a man with links to organized crime. ■