Money (illustration)
Money (illustration)Israel news photo: Flash 90

Police on Thursday indicted three Negev Bedouin and an Israeli resident of Rishon Lezion, who were accused of kidnapping a Jerusalem resident. The kidnappers were caught using that old Hollywood standby – marked money.

According to the kidnappers, the victim owed them money, and they were simply holding an extended meeting with him to discuss the matter. They said that they met the victim about three weeks ago in Jerusalem and that he willingly got into their car. After questioning the victim, prosecutors confirmed this, but said that a short time later he demanded to be let out of the car. The group refused, turning the incident into a kidnapping.

Several days later, the group contacted the victim's family, demanding payment for his release. The family reported the matter to police, who advised them on how to proceed. Police provided them with special marked bills that could be used later on as evidence that the group had indeed held the victim, and that would let them more easily track down the kidnappers.

In classic movie style, a family member made the “drop,” leaving the money at a predetermined location. Police followed the individual who picked up the money, which the group almost immediately began spending. By “following the money,” some of which was used to buy supplies for the victim, police were able to discover the location where he was being held – and successfully freed him from captivity about two weeks ago.

The police investigation on the incident was completed Thursday morning, and an order restricting publishing details of the matter was lifted.