STRIKE force police have swooped on a fifth man in connection with an alleged violent kidnapping at Rutherford.
The alarm was first raised when Hunter Valley police officers found a 38-year-old man near Greta suffering serious injuries on February 28.
Paramedics treated him at the scene before transporting him to Maitland hospital with facial injuries, a stab wound to his leg, and other cuts and bruising.
Police allege the man was forced into a vehicle in the Rutherford area early the previous day, driven to a property at Metford where he was drugged and assaulted, then released.
Officers have been piecing together what happened under Strike Force Halule.
A 29-year-old man was arrested on Main Road at Cardiff just after 4pm on Thursday, October 31.
He was taken to Belmont Police Station and charged with kidnap in company with intent.
He remains behind bars after he was refused bail when he fronted Belmont Local Court for the first time today.
Three other men charged under Strike Force Halule - aged 26, 35 and 53 - remain before the courts for their alleged involvement.
A fourth man that was arrested, a 32-year-old, was also charged earlier this year but no longer remains before the courts, police said on Friday.
Detectives released CCTV as part of a public appeal for information earlier this year.
Investigations continue.
