Clearview man sentenced to 4 years in prison for kidnapping international student for ransom

York Regional Police's Search and Rescue unit stationed in Gravenhurst, Ont. on March 27, 2019, one day after a kidnapping victim turned up there after being missing for four days. (Cristina Tenaglia/CP24)

A 22-year-old man from Clearview Township has been sentenced to four years in prison in the high-profile kidnapping of an international student in Markham.

York Region police say Nathan Plater was sentenced Wednesday after he pleaded guilty to kidnapping for ransom.

Plater will serve three years and nine months after being given credit for 90 days pre-trial custody.

Wanzhen Lu, who is currently studying in Toronto, was walking in an underground parking garage at a condominium building in the area of Highway 7 and Birchmount Road with a friend on March 23 when a group of male suspects pulled up beside them in a van.

Police said one of the suspects shocked the 22-year-old with a stun gun multiple times before forcing him into the vehicle and speeding off. The friend Lu was with did not sustain any injuries in the incident.

Lu was found three days later more than 150 kilometres from home when he stumbled onto a property in Gravenhurst asking for help.

Two other suspects, identified as 33-year-old Hashim Abdullahi and 37-year-old Abdullahi Adan, have also been charged and are still before the courts.

A Canada-wide arrest warrant has been issued for a fourth suspect, identified as 28-year-old Muzamil Addow from Toronto.

“The investigation is ongoing,” police said. “We strongly recommend that the outstanding suspect involved in this kidnapping seek legal counsel and turn himself in.”

Anyone with further information is asked to contact police or Crime Stoppers.

- With files from CTV Toronto and The Canadian Press