Authorities claim that on April 17, 45-year-old Thi Kim Tran, originally from Vietnam, was at her Bankstown home when a group of masked individuals forcibly entered and took her away at gunpoint.

During the incident, police were told the alleged kidnappers assaulted Tran’s eight-year-old son with a baseball bat before forcing her into an SUV.

A 15-year-old boy was also in the home at the time.

Tran’s remains were found in the torched SUV in Beverly Hills.

Police suspect that Tran and her children were targeted due to her husband’s alleged links to a criminal drug syndicate operating out of Victoria.

Police raided a unit in Bankstown yesterday and arrested a 29-year-old man.

He was charged with murder and was refused bail to appear before Bankstown Local Court today.

Police will allege in court the man facilitated Tran’s kidnapping and murder and was involved in the assault of the eight-year-old boy.

Detective Superintendent Joseph Doueihi, Commander of the Homicide Squad, mentioned that the arrested individual was reportedly a prominent figure within the drug network and had employed Tran’s husband for methamphetamine production.

“Investigations revealed that a conflict emerged within this drug syndicate involving an accusation that the deceased’s husband had taken a substantial amount of drugs,” Doueihi stated.

“The 29-year-old male was tasked to resolve this issue and recover those drugs.” 

The arrestee is not thought to be directly responsible for Tran’s murder but is accused of coordinating the three men responsible for the crime and aiding in the execution of the murder.

“His involvement included meeting the perpetrators beforehand, traveling together to the victim’s home, parking at the residence, and knocking on the door with the three accomplices positioned behind him,” explained Doueihi.

“He stepped aside and allowed those offenders to seriously assault that child and then kidnap and strip the woman naked in the street.

“We will allege that it’s a joint criminal enterprise between the 29-year-old male and the offenders, and therefore he is responsible for the crime.”

Evidence suggested Tran was shot before the SUV was set alight with her body in it, Doueihi said.

Investigations under Strike Force Bushfield are ongoing and detectives are still working to track down the three men alleged to have kidnapped and killed Tran.

It was extremely rare for family members to be targeted in this way in the criminal world, Doueihi said.

“This certainly is not the norm. Family, females, children are normally not involved in these type of revenge attacks,” he said.

Tran’s eight-year-old son had made a good recovery from the serious head injuries he sustained in the attack, he said.

The family member posted an Instagram comment asking “the local government [to] return justice to [Tran].

Another friend, who didn’t want to be named told the Sydney Morning Herald, what happened was “so awful”.

“She didn’t deserve this. She was a loving mother. Everyone is in shock.” they said.