Barran Press
Security forces in Shabwa Governorate, southern Yemen, announced Wednesday the liberation of 25 Ethiopian nationals who had been held hostage. Authorities also confirmed the arrest of three Ethiopian individuals comprising the kidnapping gang and the recovery of substantial ransom money.
According to a statement released by the Shabwa Governorate's Morality Police through the Security Media, the rescue operation was conducted jointly with the Emergency Battalion. The 25 freed hostages included four women. The three alleged kidnappers, also of Ethiopian nationality, were found to be torturing their victims at a clandestine location.
Khamis Hussein Mohammed, Director of the Morality Police, stated that the operation was the culmination of an intensive investigation. Security forces successfully raided the gang's hideout, situated east of Ataq city, which was being used as an illegal detention and torture facility for undocumented Ethiopian migrants.
Mohammed detailed the brutal methods employed by the kidnappers, who allegedly subjected their victims to severe torture to coerce them into contacting their families for ransom payments.
He further revealed that the gang members had received ransom transfers of up to ten thousand Saudi Riyals per hostage. Shockingly, they also reportedly sent video evidence of the torture to the victims' families to intensify pressure for payment.
The investigation uncovered that the ransom funds were being deposited by the victims' families at a pharmacy within Ataq city. Acting on this information, the Morality Police and the Emergency Battalion, in coordination with the Public Prosecution, executed a raid on the pharmacy. This resulted in the seizure of 15,054,500 Yemeni Riyals, 55,920 Saudi Riyals, and 130 US dollars.
Lieutenant Khamis assured that all legal procedures would be followed, and the arrested kidnappers, along with the recovered funds, would be handed over to the Public Prosecution for further legal action.