Police smash abduction ring after finding five Pakistanis in a container

Police in Thessaloniki said on Wednesday that they had arrested a 52-year-old Greek farm owner, two of his employees, a 62-year-old ethnic Greek from the former Soviet Union and a 19-year-old Pakistani for allegedly abducting five Pakistanis and seeking a ransom from their relatives to secure their release.

Police discovered the five victims following a raid on Tuesday on a container on a farm in Pentalofos, near Thessaloniki.

According to the accounts of the victims, their abductors extracted 4,400 euros from their relatives for their release.

The Pakistanis reached Thessaloniki after crossing the Evros River into Greece from Turkey. They said they paid their smugglers, two compatriots, 2,500 euros to take them from Turkey to Thessaloniki.