The Tehran Police have announced the arrest of members of a 10-person armed kidnapping gang. According to police officials, the network’s members posed as law enforcement officers, abducted Afghan nationals, and demanded large sums of money from their families in exchange for their release.
Mortaza Nothari, Deputy Head of Criminal Investigations at the Tehran Criminal Police, stated on Sunday, 31 Jowza, that the investigation into the case was launched after two kidnapping incidents were reported late last year.
He said preliminary inquiries showed that the gang members had prior criminal records and used three vehicles to identify and track their victims.
Nothari added that the suspects, after introducing themselves as police officers, abducted victims at gunpoint and subsequently demanded substantial payments from their families for their release.
The Deputy Head of Criminal Investigations at the Tehran Criminal Police stated that officers, following intelligence and operational measures, identified and arrested one of the main suspects in a province neighboring Tehran.
According to him, the suspect confessed to participating in the kidnappings after his arrest, and further investigations led to the identification of nine additional members of the network.
Nothari said that all members of the gang were arrested in separate operations before any money was paid by the victims’ families.
He also reported that during a search of the suspects’ hideouts, two handguns along with a number of live rounds were discovered and seized.
Tehran Police stated that further investigations revealed the group had used the same method to carry out kidnappings in a county in eastern Tehran Province as well.
According to Nothari, all suspects are currently in the custody of the Criminal Investigation Police under judicial orders for further investigation, and efforts to identify any additional crimes they may have committed are ongoing.
Writer:Salima Aryaei
