Torture, death plotted for Russell Crowe

Russell Crowe's would-be kidnappers planned to torture, dismember and even murder him to extract a $30 million ransom.

Details of the planned kidnapping of the New Zealand-born actor emerged from Los Angeles police sources in Melbourne's Sun-Herald newspaper yesterday.

Plans to kidnap 36-year-old Crowe at the premiere of Proof of Life in London's West End were thwarted when the FBI tipped off Scotland Yard.

But high-level security surrounds the Gladiator star and Academy Award-nominee in the countdown to the Oscars presentation in seven days.

The newspaper said the plot came to light by chance when Los Angeles police arrested one of the kidnapping gang in a routine traffic stop.

A traffic patrol pulled over a vehicle that looked out of place in Bel Air, the suburb where Crowe was staying.

Bel Air is home to celebrities such as Elizabeth Taylor and Zsa Zsa Gabor.

A police source said Crowe was being watched constantly to figure out his daily patterns.

"The kidnappers planned to ask for $US13 million [$31.34 million] from movie studios," said the source. "If the ransom was not paid within a certain amount of time, they would cut off one of Crowe's fingers every hour. He was going to be maimed and tortured until the ransom was paid. If the ransom still wasn't paid, the kidnappers were going to kill the actor."