Teenager Kidnapped for $1.5 Million Ransom
A 14-year-old student has been kidnapped in Beirut for $1.5 million ransom, news reports said Tuesday.
The daily An Nahar said Amin Jihad al-Khansa was abducted on Monday while waiting for a school bus outside his home in Beirut”s Ghobeiri – airport highway district.
It said Khansa”s parents were not aware of the kidnapping until they received a call from an anonymous man at midday, demanding a $1.5 million ransom.
The kidnappers threatened with the words "or else" if ransom was not paid.
An Nahar said the father thought the call was a joke. To be 100 percent certain, however, he called up the International College, where his son attends intermediate classes, to find out that Amin did not show up that day.
He called up Amin”s bus driver only to get this answer: Amin was not waiting as usual to be picked up.
It was at this point that the kidnapped boy”s father realized his son had been abducted.
He informed police of the kidnapping and immediate investigation showed that the anonymous caller used a public telephone booth in the eastern Bekaa Valley to make his call.