Police rescue kidnapped teen
Scotland Yard officers used a Hatton round to stop the kidnappers' car
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Wednesday, 23, Aug 2006 11:00
A 19-year-old man has been rescued by armed police after being held hostage for more than 24 hours and subjected to torture.
The unnamed teenager was kidnapped in Bristol in a suspected drug-related incident on Monday morning, but officers from the Metropolitan police swooped to secure his safety yesterday afternoon.
Detectives from the Met's kidnap unit pulled over a Citroen car in Acton, west London, at about 17:15 BST and fired a Hatton round – a high-powered slug often used to break down doors – at the car to stop it.
The teenager was rescued from the car and three men inside the vehicle were arrested, as were two other men at an address in Acton.
All the men are between 19 and 29 and are from the west London area, police say.
The teenager is now in hospital receiving treatment after he was tortured during his ordeal, but police believe his injuries are not serious.
"At this early stage in the investigation it is believed the kidnap was in relation to crack cocaine drug dealing," a Met spokesperson said.
The kidnappers had issued ransom demands for thousands of pounds for the release of the 19-year-old, who used to live in London but has recently moved to Bristol.