Kidnapping for ransom in Thessaloniki

Five people are arrested in Thessaloniki for kidnapping and holding a foreigner for a ransom from his relatives.

The man was released after receiving the agreed sum. According to police, among those arrested are three foreign citizens aged 18-46 and two Greeks. All of them have been charged with illegal transportation of immigrants within Greece, kidnapping and extortion, money laundering, and the creation of a criminal organization.

During the investigation, it turned out that the criminals, using physical violence, blackmailed the victim, forcibly withheld and demanded a certain amount of money from his relatives in order to transport him first within the country, and then to Western Europe. Only after receiving the money the man was released.

During a coordinated operation in a house in the western district of Thessaloniki, the police arrested the criminals, who were identified by the victim. Two of them were detained, they are employees of a money transfer company. Knowing the purpose of the money sent by the victim’s relatives, they registered different times of sending and different details of the persons who received the money in order to hide them.

During searches during the investigation, a metal rod and a wooden bat were found and seized in the house, and evidence of transactions and video recordings at the enterprise, which will help determine all the nuances of criminal activity. The arrested were taken to the prosecutor.

The case was investigated after concerted action and the use of available information by police officers of the Department of Criminal Organizations and International Affairs of the Thessaloniki Security Directorate, with the assistance of police officers of the Records and Identity Search Sub-Directorate, the Crime Prevention and Suppression Department, and the Delta Security Department.

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