A gang from Eastern Europe, whose leader is believed to be Romanian, kidnapped and held a Dutchman for 11 days, reports Le Parisien.

The criminals, who were disguised as police officers, kidnapped the Dutch citizen on June 12 this year. The man was living in northeastern Spain. The perpetrators waited for him near his house, beat him, and then put him in the trunk of a car under the threat of a weapon.

The man’s wife later received a phone call from one of the kidnappers. He asked her EUR 1.5 million in exchange for her husband’s release.

The gang leader, who apparently was a Romanian who had studied medicine in Madrid, gave drugs and sedatives to the man during the period the gang kept him.

The police quickly managed to identify the crime group as well as the place where the hostage was detained. They stormed the place a few hours before the ransom payment meeting was supposed to take place, and arrested four people. A fifth member of the gang was caught during searches organized the next day.

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Irina Marica, irina.mcarica@romania-insider.com