http://www.heraldsun.news.com.au/common/story_page/0,5478,3505834%255E2862,0... ransom demand for student By ELISSA HUNT, Magistrates' Court reporter 29dec01 A WEIGHTLIFTER helped snatch a student from his home in a $1.5 million kidnapping plot, a court has heard. Robert Fernandez, 25, is accused of grabbing the 21-year-old from his suburban driveway on March 3 this year. A 10-month investigation by the tactical response squad has seen several men charged with kidnapping the student and holding him hostage for 15 days, in a bid to get $1.5 million in ransom from his widowed mother. Sen-Det Phil Gynther told Melbourne Magistrates' Court phone conversations indicated Mr Fernandez was employed to assault a Cranbourne accountant by breaking his legs in August 1999. The former bouncer was asked by another man to "sort out" a person who owed him $130,000, the court heard. Sen-Det Gynther said the kidnapping victim described one of his attackers as a big man with a ponytail. He was later taken to a weightlifting competition in St Kilda where he identified Mr Fernandez, who was a competitor. The student was shocked with an electrical device and bundled into a car by several men on March 3. The court heard he was hooded, bound with cable ties and left in a garage before being moved to a house, where he was held for a week. He was later moved from motel to motel by his kidnappers, who brought him takeaway food. The abductors made about 37 ransom demands of the student's family, first asking for $1.5 million but later dropping their price to $800,000. Police freed the student after 15 days. Businessman Alex Yang Su, 33, and Shaun Goerlitz, 29, are in custody over the kidnapping. Sen-Det Gynther said he feared Mr Fernandez, an architectural draughtsman, would try to flee the country. Sen-Det Gynther said evidence indicated Mr Fernandez's role was as part of the snatch team and he did not take part in the ransom demands. Defence lawyer Steven Pica said his client had no prior convictions and needed to be able to continue working. Magistrate Barbara Cotterell refused bail and remanded Mr Fernandez in custody to appear at the same court on March 25. Wonder if the curt Saxon of corralitos has any close relatives in the compound?