MOSCOW, December 6 (Itar-Tass) — Police in the Kaluga region freed a hostage and detained the persons who had abducted him for a 10-million-rouble ransom, the press service of the Interior Ministry's department for the Central Federal District told Itar-Tass.
The hostage freeing operation was carried out in Maloyaroslavets.
On November 21, four unidentified men who introduced themselves as police officers, overpowered a man, threatening him with weapons, took away his money /around 10,000 U.S. dollars/, put him into a car to drive him to a cottage in suburban Maloyaroslavets, Kaluga region, where they kept him handcuffed for two weeks.
"All this time, the hostage was kept in the sauna room, handcuffed and blindfolded, under round-the-clock guard. The victim was beaten and tortured several times," a police official said.
All the four detainees are unemployed. Among them is a Muscovite, who had served 12 years in prison for robbery, and a karate coach from Moldova. One of the detainees had a fake ID of "People's Court," an organization that does not exist.
"Supposedly, this international group has a long record of the abductions of entrepreneurs who had worked at the Pokrovskaya fruit and vegetable warehouse, as had the last victim. However, they feared for their life and the life of their relatives and did not report the kidnappings to police, preferring to pay the ransom the wrongdoers had demanded," the police officer said.
Investigators are checking the detainees for involvement in similar crimes.