A vigilant Airbnb owner in Goxhill, North Lincolnshire, contacted police after spotting a group of men entering her property, which was booked under a woman’s name for herself and her baby. Officers arrived on January 28, 2025, arresting Anthony Andjole and Justin Render, while a third man escaped. This intervention halted a sophisticated international kidnapping scheme.
Discovery of the Kidnap Kit
Detective Chief Inspector Ben Robinson, who led the Humberside Police investigation, explained: “Little did the officers realise that when they attended and arrested the men, they were in fact disrupting an international kidnap plot.” Searches of the suspects uncovered papers on Andjole listing the Airbnb address and a Hull house marked as ‘target’.
That evening, police raided the Barrow Road address in Hull, seizing balaclavas, hammers, nails, rope, and cable ties—items confirmed as a kidnap kit for restraining the victim. A stolen Nissan Navara parked nearby was intended for transporting the target back to Goxhill. The next day, a firearm and ammunition were recovered from the Goxhill property.
Tracing the Plot Through CCTV and Phones
The Major Crime Team reviewed CCTV footage from Goxhill and nearby areas. It captured the Navara arriving at the Hull address on January 27, 2025, to finalize plans. Earlier, on January 26, an unidentified man and woman in a Volkswagen Golf entered the Airbnb briefly around 12:30 p.m.
The next day, the two arrested men and the fugitive entered the property. The original booker, Indiana Smith, denied knowing the men. Investigators quickly identified the fugitive as David Glen-Meade, 33, from Wolverhampton, arresting him at home on January 31 and charging him with conspiracy to kidnap.
Forensic analysis of Andjole’s phone revealed text messages detailing the plot, which he had traveled from Amsterdam to execute. The Volkswagen Golf linked to Michael McDonald and Chloe Brooks, leading to Brooks’ arrest in Doncaster on February 6 and McDonald’s on February 19. Smith was apprehended at Holyhead Port in Wales on March 26 while attempting to flee the country.
Sentences Handed Down
All six individuals faced charges related to the plot. Andjole, 30, of no fixed abode, received 12 years after pleading guilty to conspiracy to kidnap and firearm possession. Glen-Meade, 33, from Leicester, was convicted of conspiracy to kidnap and sentenced to seven years. McDonald, 54, from Doncaster, got nine years for the same offenses.
Brooks, 34, from Doncaster, and Smith, 22, from Newark, admitted to participating in an organized crime group; Brooks received a 24-month community order, and Smith a six-month suspended sentence for two years. Render, 35, from Leicester, was acquitted of all charges, including conspiracy to kidnap and firearm possession, and released.
DCI Robinson commended the team: “I want to begin by commending everyone involved in this investigation for their tenacity and dedicated work… Thanks to the expertise of our specialist teams and the strength of the evidence gathered, I am pleased these offenders have now been brought to justice and will now face the consequences of their actions after receiving significant sentences behind bars. Violent crime of this nature will never be tolerated.”
