A scheme to kidnap and kill Justin Bieber and his bodyguards was revealed on Wednesday, December 12. Recently-released inmate Mark Staake and his nephew Tanner Ruane were arrested by cops in late November before they could execute the murder plan, reported Albuquerque TV station KRQE.

Staake was recruited by Dana Martin while at the state prison near Las Cruces, and Tanner was later contacted by Staake to help him. Martin was a convicted murderer serving two life sentences for raping and killing a 15-year-old girl in Vermont in 2000. He was allegedly obsessed with Bieber and had tattoo of the singer on his leg.

Staake and Tanner planned to take down Bieber in New York City, where he performed a sold-out concert at Madison Square Garden last month. Martin ordered them to go to Vermont first to kill two former acquaintances. He instructed them to strangle the victims with a paisley tie before castrating them.

The gristly murder plot was revealed by Martin himself to cops for unknown reason. Staake was apprehended in Vermont on outstanding warrants before he could do the deed. Ruane was arrested later on in NYC after he told Martin in a recorded phone call that he's disappointed he couldn't carry out the plan.

The Vermont State Police confirmed the arrest of Staake and Ruane to CBC News. The two men were being investigated for their participation in a criminal conspiracy to locate and murder individuals. The targets have been identified, but police could not confirm if one of them was Bieber to protect their identities.

Staake and Ruane were both held at the Southern New Mexico Correctional Facility. State police is reportedly in the process of extraditing Staake to New Mexico.

After news about the murder plot broke out, Bieber's manager Scooter Braun said in a statement to Us Weekyl, "We take every precaution to protect and insure the safety of Justin and his fans."