Police waiting for next move of businessman’s abductors

Authorities investigating the kidnapping of a businessman in Piraeus on Thursday morning are waiting to see whether the perpetrators demand a ransom from his family or if the purpose was to scare or blackmail him, according to officials from the Greek Police’s security division.

According to eyewitnesses, the victim was walking toward his car when four well-built men grabbed him, pushed him forcefully into a black SUV and sped away. The same witnesses said the kidnappers wore clothes resembling police uniforms.

The 51-year-old owns a company that trades in duty-free products. He is known to police, the coast guard and the financial crimes unit (SDOE), as his name has been linked in the past to cases of cigarette smuggling. He has never been charged with any related offenses.

Authorities also believe he was the target of a bomb attack in March 2012 on a company owned by a relative.