Calgary police charge five men in ‘complex’ double kidnapping

Calgary police have laid charges against five men after a nine-month investigation into two “retaliatory” kidnappings that targeted innocent victims.

Investigators are expected to speak to the media at 11:30 a.m. Monday morning where they will address the complex investigations.

Two women kidnapped, police engage

Police say shortly after 6 p.m. on Tuesday, May 2, 2023, a woman in her 20s was going to her vehicle in a parking lot outside of her work in Calgary’s northeast when she was approached by a man she didn’t know and forced into a vehicle.

The woman’s family was told she has been taken, according to investigators, and police were called out of concern for the woman’s well-being.

Police activated several investigative resources to find and recover the woman.

During the investigation, police learned a second woman, who was in her 50s, had been kidnapped at gun point from a home in southeast Calgary.

They say this kidnapping happened several hours after the first and was believed to be an act of retailation.

According to investigators, both women were taken to separate homes in the city that were rented out through Airbnb, where they were held until the early hours of Thursday, May 4, 2023.

The women were assaulted multiple times before being released by the suspects, police say.

Once found, one woman was taken to hospital.

Police say during these incidents, which lasted more than 30 hours, dozens of resources from across CPS were engaged in an effort to find the suspects and the victims.

Two investigative teams created by CPS

Following the release of the victims, investigators spent a significant amount of time interviewing witnesses and victims, police say. They also gathered both physical and digital evidence.

Two investigative teams were assigned to the matter due to its complexity, CPS says.

Over the next nine-months, more than 100 court orders and warrants were obtained by police to progress the investigation and collect evidence.

Investigators say this included the search of numerous electronic devices and five properties in Calgary, Edmonton, and Windsor, Ont.

Five men facing charges

In November 2023, Raejean Charles Sydney Hudson, 23, of Windsor, Ont., and Enyi-Egbe Idedevbo, 28, of Windsor, Ont., were arrested and each face one charge of kidnapping. They will next appear in court on Tuesday, April 2, 2024.

On Monday, Jan. 29, 2024, investigators went to Edmonton and arrested two men, who have since been charged.

Cody Oullette, 38, and Airejah Taylor-Francois, 21, of Edmonton, have both been charged with one count each of kidnapping, robbery, sexual assault, theft over $5,000, break and enter to commit an indictable offence, disguised with intent to commit an indictable offence, and using an imitation firearm to commit an indicatable offence.

Ouellette will appear in court on Friday, April 12, and Taylor-Francois will appear in court on Tuesday, April 2.

On Thursday, Feb. 15, police arrested a fifth man at a home in northwest Calgary. During a search of the home, police also found a loaded shotgun.

Ramien Joshua Naimi, 34, has been charged with 36 offences, including one court each of careless storage of a firearm, uttering threats, and possession of an unlicensed weapon, two counts each of possession of a weapon contrary to a prohibition order and identity theft, and 29 counts of failure to comply with a release order. He is set to appear in court on Wednesday, March 27.

Investigators believe both kidnappings were “sophisticated” and “planned” events involving various levels of organized-crime members, including those contracted from outside of Calgary.

Police say these incidents are alleged to have been the result of drug-related organized crime conflict and the victims were targeted as a result of their associations to individuals involved in organized crime.

This incident is an example of how organized-crime-related violence impacts more than just those involved, including innocent family members, police say.

Anyone with information on this incident or other incidents potentially involving organized crime are asked to contact police at 403-266-1234 or tipping anonymously through CrimeStoppers.