Man Fakes His Own Abduction And Kidnapping To Spend New Year's Eve With His Lover

A man from Australia is accused of faking his own kidnapping and abduction in order to spend New Year's Eve with his lover rather than his girlfriend.

Paul Iera, 35, was detained on Thursday and charged with making a false accusation with intent and making a false representation that prompted a police investigation, which is a really bizarre allegation.

On behalf of the prosecution, Sergeant Kate McKinley of the New South Wales Police testified before the Wollongong Local Court on Friday that the investigation into the alleged kidnapping and abduction of Iera cost them and the state's government more than AU $25,000 (£14,000), not to mention that it wasted between 100 and 200 hours of police work time.

They assert that on December 31, just before midnight, Iera allegedly left his home, informing his partner he was going to visit his "financial guy" in nearby Dapto.

After that, his girlfriend allegedly received a text message from a sex worker accusing them of kidnapping him.

Iera and the sex worker are said to have a history, and the sex worker later texted his partner a few times to explain the 'kidnapping'.

Those texts said: “[Partner] it's '[name]' thank you for sending Paul to me, now payback is a b**** bye bye.”

“But I'm going to be fare [sic] OK, we will keep him with us until the morning when [sic] he gives us his bike we call it square, no one's touching him my word I'll give you hun OK”.

Because of Iera's $7,00 (£3,900) dirt bike, Iera's partner rightfully called the police, thinking Iera was being held hostage and had been kidnapped.

The police started looking into his whereabouts right once, looking through hours of CCTV footage and speaking with witnesses.

Iera, though, is said to have been seen on camera entering his lover's house with an overnight bag during those CCTV investigations.

According to the local press, that occurred in the interval between the texts he wrote to his girlfriend.

NSW Police issued the following statement following Iera's court appearance: “It was established the man allegedly made up the story about his own kidnapping.”

Additionally, the court was informed that Iera had called his father the following day to report being abducted but learned that his captors were going to leave him in his car.

Police learned throughout their inquiries that the calls didn't originate from Wollongong as the suspect claimed, but rather from Dapto.

Iera and his lover are allegedly seen getting into her car on CCTV seven minutes later. The woman allegedly dropped Iera off at his van before returning on her own a short while later.

Police then conducted a "high-risk vehicle stop" on Iera's white van because they thought he might be held captive inside.

He then informed the police that he had been taken hostage by some individuals, driven away, and left off somewhere to wait for further orders.

Police contradict this, saying they never saw a car that matched the description Iera gave of the kidnappers' vehicle.

The magistrate called the situation "very odd," but he did allow Iera bail. He was accompanied to court by his mother, sister, and partner.

He will return to court at a later date this month.