‘Clearly targeted’: Cops make major claim after alleged kidnap, murder of Thi Kim Tran, 45, in Bankstown home

The partner of a Sydney mum who was kidnapped and murdered in her Bankstown home during a “clearly targeted” attack is suspected of being connected to an organised crime group, police have said.

Thi Kim Tran, 45, was in her Bankstown home about 10.30pm Thursday April 17 when five masked men broke into the house, stripped her and forced her into the back of a dark SUV.

The same SUV was found burnt-out about an hour afterwards in Beverly Hills, with what are believed to be the remains of the 45-year-old inside.

The remains are yet to be formally identified but police believe they are those of Ms Tran.

An eight-year-old boy, who was at the property at the time, remains in an induced coma after being bashed in the back of the head with a baseball bat during the attack.

The boy is in a stable condition and expected to come out of the induced coma today, but NSW Homicide Squad Superintendent Joe Doueihi said the child may suffer “long-life complications” as a result of his injuries.

A second victim, a 15-year-old boy, was not physically injured during the incident, but suffered psychological injuries during the attack and remains in hospital where he is undergoing treatment.

Speaking to reporters on Tuesday, Superintendent Doueihi said Ms Tran was not known to police and had no prior criminal history.

However, police revealed they suspect her de facto partner had become connected to an organised crime group, and was known to police for minor drug offences.

Police said they are investigating whether there was a “conflict” between Ms Tran’s partner and the organised crime group, which police believe was the motivation for the attack.

“We are investigating a conflict between the male partner … and other members of the organised crime group,” he said.

Superintendent Doueihi said Ms Tran and the two children “had no knowledge” of the man’s connection to the group.

No charges have been laid against Ms Tran’s partner, and it is not suggested the man was involved in, or had any knowledge of, the attack on Ms Tran.

Superintendent Doueihi said the organised crime group was based in Victoria and running “large scale” drug manufacturing.

He said the majority of the members in the group were “mainly Vietnamese males” but said there was “ no information or evidence to suggest that the upper echelons of the organised crime group are linked to South-East Asian crime groups”.

Superintendent Doueihi said police were working with Victoria Police, who conducted a raid on a rural property in Springdallah in the state’s west, where they “located evidence supportive of a drug lab”.

No arrests were made following the raid.

He said Ms Tran’s murder was “clearly targeted”, and was a “brutal and callous” attack.

“This level of violence against innocent family members is rare and unprecedented,’ he said.

“These offences are clearly targeted offences … against innocent people.”Superintendent Doueihi said the group had a “clear disregard for human life”.

He issued a warning to others who were considering taking up a position with organised crime groups, warning the consequences could be devastating.

“You could put your family at serious risk,” he told reporters. “Think about that before getting involved in organised crime.”

CCTV footage – which is partially obstructed by trees and other vehicles – revealed the moment the mother was taken from her home at gunpoint and piled into the vehicle.

It is unknown if Ms Tran was dead when the vehicle was set alight.

Last week, NSW Police Superintendent Rodney Hart said the incident was “horrendous” and confirmed the family were not well-known to police.

“The level of violence is unheard of,” he told reporters.

Ms Tran, who is believed to have moved to Australia more than a decade ago from southern Vietnam and has no relatives in the country, had reportedly only recently celebrated her 45th birthday.

A manhunt for those involved in her abduction and murder is ongoing, with police urging anyone who witnessed the incident or with CCTV footage to come forward.