A group planning a 'disturbing' kidnapping were arrested after a suspicious Airbnb booking.
The gang of men and women who travelled from across the country have been jailed for a combined 28 years. Humberside Police's Control Room received a report from an Airbnb owner on Barrow Road, Goxhill, on January 28, 2025, who reported suspicious activity at the property, YorkshireLive reports.
Although the booking was made by a woman for a family trip with her baby, instead a group of men arrived and were suspected to be committing a burglary. Police arrived at the property and managed to arrest some of the individuals after a chase.
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After searching the address police found balaclavas, hammers, nails, rope and cable ties, confirming it was a kidnapping kit. Police called the scheme a "carefully orchestrated" and "deeply disturbing kidnap plot".
Anthony Andjole, 30, of no fixed address, admitted failing to comply with the Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act on the first day of trial, having previously pleaded guilty to conspiracy to kidnap and possession of a firearm with intent at an earlier hearing in May 2025. He was sentenced to 12 years' imprisonment at Hull Crown Court.
The fortnight-long trial commenced at the same court on Monday, December 1, 2025, where jurors found David Glen-Meade, 33, of Home Close, Leicester, guilty of conspiracy to kidnap. Glen-Meade was handed a seven-year prison term.
On the second day of proceedings, Michael McDonald, 54, of Acacia Road, Doncaster, admitted conspiracy to kidnap and possession of a firearm with intent. He was subsequently sentenced to nine years in jail.
Two women, Chloe Brooks, 34, of Broom Hill Drive, Doncaster, and Indiana Smith, 22, of Flint Road, Newark, both entered guilty pleas on the same day to participating in the activities of an organised crime group. Brooks received a 24-month community order, whilst Smith was given a six-month sentence suspended for two years, reports Grimsby Live.
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Furthermore, Justin Render, 35, of Sheridan Street in Leicester, was charged with handling stolen goods, conspiracy to kidnap, possession of a firearm and possession of a class B drug. However, he was found not guilty of all charges at the end of the trial and subsequently released from custody.
Detective Chief Inspector Ben Robinson, who led the investigation, commented after the sentencing hearing: "The owner reported that whilst a booking was made by a woman for a family trip with her baby, instead a group of men had entered the property and were suspected to be committing burglary.
"Officers were immediately dispatched to the area, and three men were spotted before they fled the scene on foot in an attempt to evade arrest. A brief foot chase ensued, and two men, later identified as Andjole and Render, were arrested on suspicion of burglary.
"A third man managed to escape the scene. Little did the officers realise that when they attended and arrested the men, they were in fact disrupting an international kidnap plot. Both men were searched following their arrest, and two pieces of paper were discovered on Andjole containing the Airbnb address and details of a house in Hull marked as 'target'.
"Officers subsequently conducted a search at the address on Barrow Road that evening discovering balaclavas, hammers, nails, rope and cable ties, this was confirmed to be a kidnap kit which was planned to be used by the three men to restrain the individual at the target address.
"On the drive of the address was a stolen Nissan Navara which was planned to be used to transport the victim back to the address in Goxhill. A further search of the property in Goxhill the following day resulted in a firearm and ammunition being recovered."
The Major Crime Team launched an immediate investigation, examining CCTV footage from Goxhill and nearby areas, which identified the Navara travelling to the Hull address on Monday, January 27, 2025, the day before the incident, to finalise their plans.
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Police reported that CCTV from the Airbnb captured an unidentified man and woman arriving in a Volkswagen Golf at approximately 12:30pm on Sunday, January 26, 2025, entering the property briefly before leaving. Footage also showed the two arrested men, along with the third suspect who escaped, arriving at the property the next day on Monday, January 27.
The individual who originally booked the property was approached by the Airbnb owner, who insisted she had no idea who the men captured on CCTV were or their reason for being there. The Major Crime team quickly identified the third person who entered the premises and fled as Glen-Meade from the Wolverhampton area.
Detectives collaborated with colleagues from West Midlands Police, and through cross-border cooperation, he was apprehended at his residence on Friday, January 31, 2025 and subsequently charged with conspiracy to kidnap.
During his time in custody, Andjole's mobile phone was confiscated and forensic examination uncovered text messages detailing an elaborate kidnap scheme that he had travelled from Amsterdam specifically to carry out. Further CCTV investigations revealed the Volkswagen Golf was connected to McDonald and Brooks, who were then confirmed as the man and woman seen on the CCTV footage, and it was tracked to an address in Doncaster.
Police attended a property on Broom Hill Drive in Doncaster on Thursday, February 6, where Chloe Brooks was apprehended. Subsequent enquiries resulted in McDonald's arrest at his residence on Wednesday, 19 February 2025.
The investigation established that Smith had reserved the Airbnb, providing the organised crime group with a secure base from which to execute the kidnap plot. She was discovered by officers attempting to flee the country at Holyhead Port in Wales on Wednesday, March 26, 2025 and was arrested.
Consequently, all six individuals faced various charges. Andjole, Render, Glen Meade and McDonald were remanded in custody, whilst Brooks and Smith were both granted conditional bail.
DCI Robinson added: "I want to begin by commending everyone involved in this investigation for their tenacity and dedicated work. At the start, we had such limited information, but the team carried out a detailed and lengthy investigation following every line of enquiry to ensure that the full picture of this incident was understood which meant that we built up a wealth of evidence which was crucial in ultimately securing the charges for all six individuals.
"This was a carefully orchestrated and deeply disturbing kidnap plot, involving Andjole who travelled from Amsterdam, and others from across the country, to carry it out. Thankfully, no one became a victim or was injured as a result, and this could have resulted in a very different outcome had they been able to implement their sinister plan.
"Thanks to the expertise of our specialist teams and the strength of the evidence gathered, I am pleased these offenders have now been brought to justice and will now face the consequences of their actions after receiving significant sentences behind bars. Violent crime of this nature will never be tolerated, and our Major Crime Team will continue working tirelessly to remove dangerous individuals from our streets."
