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Police in Israel have arrested three construction workers who allegedly kidnapped a contractor, demanding that he pay them NIS 40,000 ($10,865 USD) in back pay for a completed project.
The 24-year-old contractor, who was not the owner of the construction company or even the employer in charge of the men, was saved Sunday (Feb. 17) after he used a cell phone hidden in his sock to call the Netanya police, one of Israel’s largest news outlets, Yedioth Ahronoth, reported Monday (Feb. 18) morning.
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The construction workers held the contractor in a Tel Aviv apartment building, demanding money from his girlfriend, until police freed him, the report says.
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The suspects (ages 34, 41, and 62) and contractor were not further identified.
Hostage Situation
The construction workers, who had made an appointment with the contractor, met the man on Sunday (Feb. 17) in Netanya and demanded to be paid for work they had completed a few months ago, according to ynetnews.com.
The men then dragged him onto a sealed box inside a truck, drove approximately 23 miles to Tel Aviv, and locked him in an apartment for an unspecified amount of time, the report said.
While inside the apartment, one of the suspects called the man’s girlfriend to demand the money.
“We kidnapped your boyfriend. If you don’t pay a NIS 40,000 ransom we will hurt him,” he said, according to the report.
Hidden Cell Call Directs Police
After the call, the woman called the Netanya police to report the abduction. Meanwhile, the hostage also called the police from a cell phone he had reportedly hidden in his sock.
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Wikimedia Commons |
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Police in Israel were able to locate the contractor after he used a cell phone hidden in his sock to make contact.
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“I was kidnapped,” he said, according to the report. “I’m locked in an apartment. I don’t know where I am.”
Police were able to trace the call and arrived at the apartment, presenting themselves as the contractor’s friends there to pay the ransom. Once inside the apartment, the police arrested the workers and freed the contractor.
“The kidnappers were taken to questioning at the Netanya police station and will be facing a remand hearing Monday,” according to the report.
Police officials did not immediately return a request for comment on the case.
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