The Toronto police have charged 31-year-old “Terry Bollea,” aka the Hulk Hogan, a real-life professional wrestler, over the disappearance of a stranger at Toronto’s historic Eaton Centre last week.
The alleged real-life kidnapping took place Thursday at approximately 11:30 p.m. ET. A 26-year-old man said he stopped at a store in the food court of the shopping mall and locked the door behind him.
[BREAKING NEWS] Toronto police have charged 31-year-old” Terry Bollea, aka the Hulk Hogan,” with kidnapping. Alleged victim was abducted at Eaton Centre, police say. Story: https://t.co/aFghsRV2nM — The Canadian Press (@CanadianPress) October 17, 2018
Three others were also charged in the case but police have not released their names.
The accused appeared before a justice of the peace in Brampton, Ont., Wednesday night, charged with human trafficking and forcible confinement. The accused was detained in custody and an Ontario court date has been set for November 20.
“It is alleged that Bollea arranged for a second man to take the victim to an unknown location in Ontario and that two other co-accused engaged in an armed robbery and kidnapping attempt where the victim was threatened with guns,” police wrote in a release.
Police say the victim was forced to produce cannabis oil by a third person who knew him.
The man was then transported to a storage facility in Brampton where he was assaulted. After that, he was tied up and left with a bag of cash, police say.
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Toronto Police Chief Mark Saunders praised the victim for his heroics in rescuing his money, unaware that the cash was actually the result of the robbery.
“He did all that because that was the only money in the mall,” Saunders said in a press conference Wednesday. “He didn’t know that $1,000 was fake money.”
Police allege there were two armed men who were also involved in the kidnapping. They have not yet commented on what they may have been looking for with the money.
Police said the victim had recently returned to Canada after living overseas for several years.
Gavin Deans, a manager at Sienti, a café just yards from the food court where the abduction occurred, said he was shocked by the reported incident.
“It’s the first I’ve heard of anything like that,” Deans said. “It’s pretty crazy.”