Dozens of charges laid against 4 men in Calgary kidnapping

Four men charged in Calgary kidnapping EXTENDED: Insp. Shannon Scott from the Calgary Police Service discusses an 11-month kidnapping investigation.

Calgary police say four men have been charged in an 11-month investigation into a kidnapping last summer.

Police were called just before 9:30 a.m. on Tuesday, July 4, 2023, by a man who said his home had been broken into and a member of his family had been kidnapped from an unknown location.

The man said three strangers broke into his home in the 500 block of Fourth Avenue N.E. and assaulted him with a weapon, robbing him before leaving.

Investigators learned the man's attackers contacted him via phone and demanded a ransom be paid for the return of his family member.

Officers believed the kidnapping was drug-related, and say the abductors provided video updates to the man.

The next evening, the victim was released with minor injuries and located by police downtown.

At the time, police arrested one man in connection to the incident.

The ensuing investigation resulted in three additional suspects being identified.

"Addressing organized-crime-related violence in Calgary continues to be a top priority for our service, and in this case, we dedicated resources from 17 different areas across the (Calgary Police Service)," said a Tuesday news release.

"In the months following, we continued to dedicate numerous resources to locating and arresting the suspects and collaborated with several law enforcement agencies in different jurisdictions to ensure the suspects were taken into custody."

The following are facing charges in the investigation:

Salah Aden, 24, Mustafa Saeed, 23, Brandon Power, 22, and Mohit Sandhu, 22.

Aden had been arrested in July 2023, but failed to appear at his trial in November 2023.

He has since been re-arrested in Ontario and is scheduled to appear in court on July 16.

Saeed is scheduled to appear in court on July 15.

Power, arrested in Fort McMurray, is set to appear in court on July 24.

Lastly, Sandhu was arrested in Toronto. He is scheduled to appear in court on Tuesday.

Insp. Shanon Scott says the incident highlights that no matter how much time has passed or where suspects flee to, investigators will dedicate themselves to the suppression, investigation and enforcement of violence that occurs in Calgary.

"We will continue to investigate this type of criminal activity even if it requires our officers to travel out-of-province to take suspects into custody," Scott said.

Scott said organized crime-related violence is historically difficult to solve, and often answers lie within the community.

"We know much of the violence related to organized crime is retaliatory in nature, and often driven by illegal drug trade and financial benefits."

Anyone with information about the incident is asked to call Calgary police at 403-266-1234.

Tips can also be submitted anonymously through Crime Stoppers.