Police believe a body found at a Tarneit park is that of a 30-year-old man kidnapped from South Morang. (ABC News)

Police believe a man found dead in Melbourne’s west had been kidnapped by machete-wielding intruders earlier this morning.

Homicide Squad detectives were called to a park at 4:30am after a body was found beside a children’s playground in Bruny Drive in Tarneit.

Formal identification is yet to occur but police believe it is the body of a 30-year-old man who was forced out of his South Morang home, in Melbourne’s north, during a home invasion about 3am.

Police say a number of male offenders got out of a dark-coloured vehicle on Darius Terrace about 3am.

They forced their way into the home, where a second man and two children were also present.

Police were told the victim was assaulted by the men, who were armed with machetes, and he was then dragged out of the house and into the vehicle.

The Homicide Squad’s Detective Inspector Dean Thomas said the victim was known to police.

But he said investigators would keep an open mind about whether there were any links to bikie gangs or organised crime, and what the motive was for the attack.

“It appears at this point in time that the offending is somewhat targeted,” he said.

Inspector Thomas said it would have been confronting for the children at the home.

“Those children are safe and with family,” he said.

“To be home, in your house and to have something like this happen is extremely … it is very, very frightening.

“But I assure the community that we have a large number of Homicide Squad detectives working on this investigation and we will piece it together and we will determine what has happened and we will identify those responsible.”

Inspector Thomas said police were investigating whether a car that was destroyed by fire in Eynesbury, west of Melbourne, was linked to the kidnapping and death.

“It’s too early to say that this is related to bikies,” he said.

“We’re always concerned about retaliation but we work closely with, in this case, the deceased’s family and associates, but we keep an open mind to everything.”

He said detectives were hoping to speak to anyone who was in the South Morang area in the early hours, as well as anyone driving between South Morang and Tarneit who has dashcam footage or saw anything suspicious.