MACERATA - Italian police have rescued a 25-year-old Brit from a wealthy family and arrested four people who kidnapped him for several days demanding a ransom of 7000 euros, authorities revealed.

 The young hostage, a chef, had been travelling around Italy until his latest stop in the Le Marche region. It is understood he was out with a friend when he was abducted - the friend managed to escape and inform the man’s family in the UK, who alerted the National Crime Agency (NCA) in London. The NCA then collaborated with the Ros (Special Operations) carabinieri in Italy to rescue him.

 The man, who has not yet been identified, was kept manacled for several days in a room with furniture pushed against the windows to block out any light. He was found on Wednesday, barefoot and psychologically shaken, having been beaten with a stick and a taser, though he did not suffer serious injuries.

 The makeshift prison cell was in an apartment, rented by one of the kidnappers, located in a quiet, residential area just outside the historic centre of Macerata. Apparently the Brit knew at least one of the kidnappers, three men and one woman, all of whom were around his age. Investigators speculate that the man may have been in debt to them in exchange for drugs, according to Il Corriere della Sera.

 The kidnappers, two Italians and two foreigners of African origin, had no criminal history and their lack of experience made it much easier for the man to be rescued. The group gave him a mobile phone to ask his family for the ransom money, not thinking that the phone's GPS would pinpoint the man's location, nor monitoring him when he gave his family information to help the police rescue him - a mission that succeeded 36 hours later.

 The man is now safe and the group of four were expected to appear in court on Friday.

ln