Police are reporting that the two allegedly kidnapped children from Blackburn North, Melbourne have been reunited with their mother.
Investigators say “good old-fashioned policing” has led to authorities tracking the children to a property in Mitcham, the neighboring suburb, in less than 12 hours.
At about 8:45 am yesterday, it is alleged a hooded man had abducted Adilla Wally, 5, and Bilal Wally, 3, and drove them away in their Wally’s black Mercedes.
The children’s 32-year-old mother was bound and gagged in their Blackburn North home. Their father was not at the property and had been away at work.
The incident sparked a widespread search for the children and the vehicle, with investigators only having a few clues until about 4:00 pm.
By 7:20 pm, officers from the Special Operations Group were able to retrieve the children from the Mitcham property just before they were set to be moved to another location.
Detective Inspector Dean Thomas of the Victoria Police Armed Crime Squad said that the police were happy that they found the two children safe and well.
“Their parents are also understandably immensely relieved,” he said.
Victoria Police Commander Mick Frewen said that there’s a lot of unanswered questions regarding the investigation. He believes that the attack did not appear to be random.
“We’re still working through the motivation. We’re still working through how, or if at all, the victim and these people of interest are connected.” He said
Frewen praised the work of the police, along with the aid of the community and the media, in locating the children.
“From our perspective, these are the sorts of investigations that get us out of bed every day. The result, overall, is a really great one,” he said.
CASE UPDATE
Four suspects had been arrested and the Wally’s black Mercedes has been retrieved.
Interviews with the suspects are continuing and no charges have been laid yet. Further interviews will also take place with the children and their parents.
Anyone with information that may help with the investigation is urged to contact Crime Stoppers at 1800 333 000.
“As I said earlier today, any incident of this nature where children are taken from a property is concerning for police and it’s certainly concerning for the broader community as well.”
