Trial begins for alleged kidnappers of 'Crypto King'

Alfredo Palladino and Rakeem Henry arrived at the courthouse for day one of their jury trial. They're accused of carrying out the kidnapping of Aiden Ploturski, while the Crown says a third accused, Akeel Haywood, was the driving force behind it. During its opening address, the Crown argued Haywood lost a significant amount of money investing with Ploturski, and that led to a violent three-day kidnapping. The Crown said Ploturski was confined, waterboarded, burned with cigarettes, and had a gun fired near his head. Ploturski was convicted last month of defrauding investors out of more than $30 million. The jury heard a 911 call Ploturski's landlord, Sandeep Gupta, made when Ploturski called him. Gupta told the dispatcher he believed Ploturski had been kidnapped. Gupta kept Ploturski on speakerphone using a second phone so the 911 operator could hear what Ploturski was saying. In the call, Ploturski begged Sandeep for $2 to $3 million or anything else he could come up with, like jewelry, art, or precious metals. Ploturski said they know everything, that he stole the money, and that they need to get paid. Sandeep tells him he wants to help, but it's not easy to get that amount of money in the middle of the night. During cross-examination, Haywood's lawyer argued there were inconsistencies between Gupta's testimony and what he said during Ploturski's bankruptcy proceeding. He also suggested Gupta helped Ploturski and was involved in his fraud scheme, which Gupta strongly denied. The trial continues. Angelina King, CBC News, Toronto.