The jury trial for three men accused of kidnapping and extorting the self-described “Crypto King” Aiden Pleterski began Tuesday in Toronto with testimony from his former landlord.

“I’m on a phone call right now and I believe this person is being held, kidnapped,” says Sandeep Gupta to an emergency call taker in a recording of a 911 call played in Ontario Superior Court. 

“He’s not a friend; he was a renter. I don’t know if you’ve heard on the news — the Crypto King?”

Akil Heywood, Alfredo Paladino and Rakeem Henry are all charged with allegedly kidnapping and extorting Pleterski over the course of three days in early December 2022. 

Paladino and Henry are also charged with firearms offences, the aggravated assault of…