Transnational Crime and Gangs

New South Wales police are searching for 85‑year‑old Chris Baghsarian, who was carried from his North Ryde home by three intruders early Friday in what investigators now say was a targeted gang kidnapping gone wrong. Robbery and Serious Crime Squad Commander Andrew Marks told reporters Monday he is "a million percent" confident Baghsarian, a grandfather with no criminal ties, was mistaken for a man linked to Sydney’s Alameddine crime network and appealed directly to the abductors to release him, stressing he needs daily medical care. Police say Baghsarian was taken wearing grey pajamas and a red-and-green flannel shirt, and local media report that images and video of him with severe injuries are already circulating in Sydney’s criminal underworld. Marks called the error "concerning" but said there is no evidence gangs are randomly snatching elderly people, trying to reassure families even as detectives race to locate the victim alive. The case has drawn added attention because CBS and Australian outlets are comparing it to the still‑unsolved kidnapping of NBC anchor Savannah Guthrie’s 84‑year‑old mother in Arizona, underscoring wider public fears about the vulnerability of elderly relatives and the limits of law‑enforcement reach.