Hostage rescued after 9-day ordeal

12 April 2012

Scotland Yard has rescued a hostage in Liverpool after its longest ever kidnap operation.

The 42-year-old man was freed on Wednesday night after a nine-day ordeal. He had been kidnapped on March 13 following a dispute between drugs gangs and was held at an address in Liverpool.

The hostage was kidnapped on his way to work at 5am on March 13. At any one time in the last nine days, up to 200 police officers were involved in the investigation.

The victim was beaten in captivity and suffered superficial injuries to his body and face.

Following several days of tense build up, officers found themselves in a position to act on Wednesday afternoon.

As he was freed, armed police raided a series of addresses, arresting 11 people and seizing cash, guns and drugs.

Officers raided addresses in Knowsley, Liverpool, Denham in the Thames Valley area and Brentwood, Essex. In addition to the 11 men held, one woman was also arrested.

Police recovered 1kg of cocaine, a large quantity of amphetamine, two firearms and about £200,000 in cash.

Detective Chief Superintendent Sharon Kerr, of the Specialist Crime Directorate, said: "Officers from the Kidnap Unit are used to working in some of the toughest policing conditions, with investigations invariably involving violent criminality on both sides. That makes the risks extremely high and the threat to life real and constant.

"We are rightly proud of our track record when dealing with kidnaps, but we never take it for granted and no matter the background of those involved we take our duty to preserve life extremely seriously. In this instance not only have we saved the life of a man, but with the intelligence gained we have the opportunity to tackle an organised criminal network and reduce harm to a number of communities."

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