JEDDAH: A Pakistani man, identified only as Khan, spent the most difficult 36 hours of his life after being kidnapped and imprisoned by four fellow countrymen in a room in Al-Khumrah District in the extreme south of Jeddah. The kidnappers demanded a ransom of SR10,000 to release him. The kidnapped man was expecting to die, but Criminal Investigations Department (CID) officers in Al-Nuzlatain Police intervened at the last minute, liberating him and arresting the four kidnappers. Khan's ordeal started when he received a telephone call in which the caller asked him to meet him at a certain location over an important matter. He rushed to the place only to find four other Pakistani men waiting for him. They grabbed him and prevented him from making any move. Then they dumped him in the back seat of a car and sped away to a remote area in Al-Khumrah District and imprisoned him in a room. In the room, they threatened to kill him if he did not pay them SR10,000 for his release. The alleged culprits allowed the victim to telephone his family in Pakistan to provide the ransom amount. Meanwhile, the criminal investigations authorities in Al-Nuzlatain Police received information that a Pakistani had been kidnapped by unidentified persons demanding a ransom of SR10,000. The security authorities were able to collect a great deal of information on the kidnappers within a short time, made contact and pretended to start negotiations for them to hand over the man at a specified place in return for the ransom. At the appointed time, the two parties met to carry out the agreement. The alleged culprits found themselves surrounded and were apprehended. The released Pakistani national gave his testimony to the police and said the kidnappers covered his mouth and carried him into their car where they threatened him with knives. The security operation was followed by Maj. Gen. Ali Al-Ghamdi, Director of Jeddah Police and Brig. Gen. Muhammad Al-Jihani, Assistant Director of Jeddah Police for Criminal Security. Col. Misfir Al-Ju'aid, Spokesman of Jeddah Police, said the security operation did not take a long time and ended with the arrest of the culprits and the release of the kidnapped man.
