22/03/2007

Hostage rescued after eight-day ordeal

A man has been rescued after being held hostage for eight days in what is believed to have been a dispute between drug gangs.

The 42-year-old man is understood to have been kidnapped while on his way to work around 5am on March 13.

After eight days, the man was finally freed from an address in Liverpool on Wednesday night.

He had been beaten during the time he was held captive and suffered injuries to his face and upper body, but they are not thought to be life threatening.

Police also seized one kilogram of cocaine, a large quantity of amphetamines, two firearms and around £200,000 in cash from the house.

Following the man's release, police conducted a series of raids in addresses in Knowsley, Merseyside, Brentwood, Essex and Denham in which eleven men and a woman were arrested.

Scotland Yard said that it was the longest-running kidnap case that it had ever dealt with.

(KMcA/JM)


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