Chris Baghsarian search update: Human remains found in search for kidnapped grandfather, police say

Police searching for Chris Baghsarian have located what are believed to be human remains, after the elderly grandfather was kidnapped in what authorities describe as a case of mistaken identity. In a statement released on Tuesday, February 24 the NSW Police Force confirmed the remains were found near a golf club in Pitt Town, north-west Sydney, at about 8am. The discovery comes 11 days after Baghsarian was taken from his home in North Ryde on February 13, with CCTV showing a group of unknown masked men bundling him into an SUV.

Footage that circulated through Sydney’s criminal underworld in the days after the kidnapping purportedly showed the elderly man had been seriously injured, as per the BBC.

Police have previously said they are “confidently” treating the kidnapping as a case of mistaken identity of the 85-year-old. Police pleaded with the kidnappers to ensure the man's safe return during the investigation, stating that he had health problems and required daily medication.


According to ABC, law enforcement sources said the offenders were likely targeting “a figure with links to the Alameddine crime family", an organised crime group operating out of the western Sydney suburb of Merrylands.

Who are the Alameddine crime family?

The Alameddine crime family is a Sydney-based criminal network that police believe has played a major role in the city’s illicit drug trade. The group is allegedly led by Rafat Alameddine, an Australian man of Lebanese ancestry. Law enforcement authorities have previously described the organisation as one of the largest drug-trafficking syndicates operating in Sydney.

According to reporting by the Sydney Morning Herald in 2024, citing police officials, the NSW Police Force declared that the organisation was believed to have earned up to $1 million in weekly profits at its peak.