Brother of MacGill's girlfriend allegedly part of ex-cricketer's abduction

On Wednesday, NSW Police arrested four men including Marino Sotiropoulos -- brother of Maria. In an interview with The Daily Telegraph, Maria at first said her relationship with MacGill was over before saying she was not "close" to Sotiropoulos. "Stuart and I are still together," she said of her relationship with MacGill. "We are all still frightened...I no longer feel safe (and) I really do not understand what happened.

"My brother and I led very different lives and although we were brothers and sisters, we weren't that close." She told The Daily Telegraph that MacGill is safe and didn't wish to talk further about the alleged kidnapping. "Everyone's fine and everyone's well, but I'm not interested in talking about what happened. Stuart is safe and we are both OK. Unfortunately, I am caught in the middle of a horrible situation but all I can do is support Stu and my family. My elderly parents and children are really suffering and I am fearful for them. They are really in the dark about what happened," she said.

According to a report in Fox Cricket, the former cricketer was abducted at gunpoint from Cremorne after being confronted by a 46-year-old man about 8 pm on April 14. He was allegedly assaulted before being released after an hour in the Belmore area. Police in a statement had earlier said: "Following extensive investigations, strike force detectives, with assistance from Raptor Squad and the Public Order and Riot Squad, arrested four men -- aged 27, 29, 42 and 46 -- from 6 am today (Wednesday 5 May 2021).

"The men were taken to local police stations where charges are expected to be laid. Officers are currently in the process of executing search warrants at homes at Sutherland, Caringbah, Brighton Le-Sands, Banksia and Marrickville." Making his debut in 1998, MacGill played 44 Test matches and three ODIs for Australia before announcing his retirement from international cricket in 2008. He finished with 208 Test wickets and six wickets in ODIs. The 50-year-old didn't return to the game until 2011 when he played in the Big Bash League for Sydney Sixers.