Athens News Agency: News in English, 09-03-08

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From: The Athens News Agency at <http://www.ana.gr/>

CONTENTS

[01] Police crack two abduction cases involving Pakistanis

[01] Police crack two abduction cases involving Pakistanis

In the more serious of the two cases, two Pakistani nationals aged 29 and 32 years old, respectively, were arrested in the Piraeus district of Nikaia. Five more Pakistani nationals are being sought as their accomplices.

The suspects are accused of abducting a 46-year-old man from Pakistan on March 2 and keeping him a prisoner for five days in a house in Nikaia, during which time they subjected him to torture - including electric shocks - and extreme physical abuse in order to force his family in Pakistan to give them 18,000 euros in ransom.

They eventually released the man after his family managed to find and hand over 1,000 euros to one of their accomplices in Pakistan. The victim then reported his abduction to the police and two of the suspected kidnappers were arrested and led before a public prosecutor.

The second case involves the abduction about two days ago in Ilion, west Athens, of a 28-year-old Pakistani, on the pretext that they would find him work. The kidnappers then demanded 4,000 euros from his family in order to release him. They finally settled for 3,000 euros and a meeting was set for the ransom money to be handed over in the west Athens district of Peristeri. At the meeting, however, friends of the victim arrested an 18-year-old accomplice of the kidnappers and handed him over to police.

A second accomplice managed to escape and return to the house where they were keeping the victim captive and alert the kidnappers, who attempted to move him to another location. In the process, however, he managed to escape and return home.

Shortly afterward, police also arrested one more 23-year-old Pakistani and are looking for another 28-year-old. The two men arrested were led before a public prosecutor on Saturday.

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