Eighth person arrested in Bay 'kidnap' case

Another man has been arrested in relation to an alleged kidnapping of a Tauranga man.

The arrest is the eighth following raids on Bay of Plenty properties, including one in Whakamarama and one in Ohauiti, yesterday morning.

The man is expected to appear in court today, along with the seven other people arrested.

The raids across the Bay also resulted in the recovery of thousands of dollars of stolen goods.

In a written statement, Detective Senior Sergeant Zane Smith said the raids followed an investigation after a man in his 20s alleged he was abducted from a Tauranga property on the night of Monday, February 16.

Early the following morning a second man in his 40s was allegedly abducted from a property in Rotorua, and three vehicles were stolen during the two incidents, he said.

The co-ordinated police operation yesterday targeted properties associated to members of the Headhunters gang.

Mr Smith said a number of search warrants were executed at addresses in Tauranga and Whakatane areas of the Bay of Plenty yesterday and other searches were carried out in Auckland central and in Waitemata police district