A New York businessman was rescued this weekend from an extortion plot that started with his kidnapping in Eloy last week and ended with his rescue in Mexico, officials say.
Luis Ramon, a Dominican businessman who lives in New York was recently kidnapped in Eloy, put into the luggage compartment of a 2009 Honda SUV and driven to Hermosillo, the Sonora Attorney General’s Office said in a news release on Sunday.
After crossing the border, the kidnappers contacted Luis Ramon’s brother in Orlando, Florida, demanding up to $500,000 for his release. The brother told the kidnappers he would try to get $350,000 by selling some of his belongings, the news release said.
On Oct. 27, agents with the Federal Bureau of Investigations contacted the Sonora prosecutor’s office asking for help in the case.
Agents with the Sonora prosecutor’s office were able to locate the Honda SUV, and, in a joint coordination with the FBI, rescue the businessman, the news release said. The agents also found a .45 caliber pistol in the Honda.
Officials say the rescue prevented a $400,000 payout to his kidnappers, the attorney general’s office said.
Officials did not provide a motive for the kidnapping and withheld the last name of both the victim and the alleged kidnapper.
The investigation is ongoing and no other information can be released Sunday, Lupita Orduño, spokeswoman for Attorney General’s Office of Sonora said.
A man from Chihuhua, Mexico, has been arrested and faces charges of aggravated kidnapping and possession of a firearm.
Details of the kidnapping, including when and how it happened, were not available on Sunday.
