Mystery surrounds the alleged abduction and threats towards a man in Mullumbimby earlier this month, with police saying they have no records of such an incident despite a vivid report from a local resident.
Argyle Street resident Bernard Hinchcliffe told Echonetdaily he was approached by a ‘frantic’ young man outside Carsburg’s car dealership between 9 and 10pm on Friday January 11.
‘The man said his friend had been abducted by people he owed money to,’ Mr Hinchcliffe said.
Threat to chop fingers off
‘He said he was just up the road and asked could I drive him to the house as they were threatening chop his friend’s fingers off.’
‘He said he had already called the police.
Mr Hinchcliffe said he declined to drive the teen to the nearby address but rang the police and verified his story.
Not long afterwards, he said, a car pulled up and three teenagers – two male and one female – got out.
‘Everyone knew each other and they were all frantic. The girl told me that her 18-year-old boyfriend owed $2,000 to his drug dealers and they had grabbed him and were threatening chop his fingers off.
‘I re-rang the police and relayed the message. The three teens got back in the car and drove off.’
Mr Hinchcliffe said the police arrived ‘after about 30 minutes’ and the young man who had been on the phone earlier came over to explain what had happened.
No record: police
But Byron Bay police inspector Matt Kehoe told Echonetdaily, ‘We don’t have any record of that particular incident’.
‘We have had a number of mental health episodes over the holiday period but no serious incidents like that,’ he added.
However Mr Hinchcliffe is adamant that he hasn’t been the victim of a practical joke.
‘These guys weren’t pranking,’ he told Echonetdaily. ‘The young guy was genuinely distressed.’
What a bizarre incident! I know Bernard, and I wouldn’t doubt for a second, that he’s saying it as it happened.
I imagine the teens would have been too scared to report the alleged drug dealer’s threat/assault to the police for fear of reprisals from the dealer, and for fear of being charged by police with drug offences. Strange the police appear to dismiss it as a ‘mental health episode’.