Man kidnapped after intentional fender bender in Mississauga; two men charged
Published November 21, 2023 at 4:30 pm
An apparent botched kidnapping-for-ransom attempt that targeted a man as he was driving in Mississauga has led to the arrests over a year later of two Brantford men and the recovery by police of a 12-gauge shotgun.
Criminal Investigation Bureau detectives with Peel Regional Police say the two men were arrested on Nov. 5, about 14 months after a 57-year-old Mississauga man was forced into a vehicle after an intentional fender bender in the city’s east end.
Police say the victim was driving in the area of Dixie Road and Dundas Street East in Mississauga on Aug. 23, 2022 when his vehicle was intentionally rear-ended by another car.
“When the victim attempted to exchange information with the other parties involved, one of (them) brandished a firearm,” police said in a news release, adding the man was then forced by the culprits into their vehicle.
He was then taken to a warehouse in the area of Eglinton Avenue West and Ridgeway Drive, in the city’s west end, where he was assaulted, police say.
A short time later, the man was able to escape his captors and made his way to the Peel police 11 Division station at Erin Mills Parkway and Dundas Street West, where he reported the incident.
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Police say the victim was treated at hospital for non-life-threatening injuries in the wake of his abduction, which investigators believe to have been an isolated incident.
According to police, an “extensive investigation” was launched at that time, the probe eventually leading to the two arrests earlier this month.
During one of the arrests, police recovered a 12-gauge shotgun inside a Brantford home.
Raza-Syed Jafri, 24, of Brantford, is charged with kidnapping with firearm to hold for ransom and conspiracy to commit an indictable offence.
Aziz Syed, 32, also of Brantford, is charged with careless storage of firearm and knowledge of unauthorized possession of firearm.
Both appeared for bail hearings in Brampton court and will appear again at a date not yet determined.
Police say they’re looking into the possibility that others may have been involved in the incident.
Anyone with information about this incident is urged to call police at 905-453–2121, ext. 1133, or Peel Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-8477.
A 12-gauge shotgun seized by police during the recent arrests. (Photo: Peel Regional Police)