A 29-year-old man has been arrested following an alleged kidnapping incident which began in Christchurch earlier this afternoon.
Police were alerted at 1.47pm by staff at a Christchurch service station that a customer told them he was being forced to drive to the West Coast by a man in possession of firearms.
After an extensive search in the west of the city a vehicle was located on SH73 and followed by Christchurch police units.
The arrest was made without incident at Lake Lyndon, Canterbury and no one was injured.
A number of firearms were located in the vehicle.
The arrested man is being transported back to Christchurch for questioning as police commence an investigation.
At this stage it is understood the man and the male victim were not known to each other.
The police investigation is in its very early stages and police will work to understand exactly what occurred and the background to the incident.
No further information is available at this time.
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Issued by Police Media Centre