Toronto teen home safe after brazen abduction

Image source, Toronto Police handout

Image caption, Police released this image of the vehicle involved in the abduction

A 14-year-old boy believed to have been abducted over his step-brother's multi-million drug debt is home with his parents, Toronto Police say.

The teenager was forced into a jeep on Wednesday in the city's north end. He was found "dishevelled" but safe in a Toronto suburb late on Thursday.

Police say that the boy had no connections to drugs and crime and was an innocent victim.

They are still looking for those responsible for the abduction.

The saga began around 08:30 (13:30 GMT) on Wednesday in Toronto, when police received reports of a disturbance.

Witnesses reported seeing someone being pushed into a Jeep Wrangler with oversized tyres, shouting "help me".

The boy's school failed to immediately report his absence to his parents, who only grew concerned when he failed to return home that afternoon and went to police.

The jeep was later found burned out about 60km (37 miles) north of the city.

Police sent out an amber alert for the boy shortly after midnight.

"We believe that the motive for his abduction was because of his brother, his older brother's involvement in a drug rip-off at a value of over $4m (拢3.1m)," Toronto Police Chief Mark Saunders told journalists on Friday morning.

He later added: "It's obvious the suspects couldn't locate the older brother - neither can we at this point in time - and so obviously the younger brother would have been the target they chose, which is very unfortunate".

Mr Saunders said that the teenager's step-brother had "limited" contact with police during the search.

Late on Thursday night, the boy was found by police in the city of Brampton and brought for a medical check-up.