Seized and Beaten for Money: Nine Arrests in Brescia

Brescia. First the kidnapping, then the violence and death threats, up to the demand to hand over money and credit cards.

A fellow national was allegedly kept under control by his tormentors, hooded, beaten, and filmed during the assaults, with the threat of releasing the videos if he did not comply with their demands.

This is the scenario reconstructed by the Brescia mobile police squad in the investigation that led to the arrest of nine Indian citizens, all legally resident in Italy and mostly employed in the agricultural sector.

Eight were taken to prison, while house arrest was ordered for a ninth suspect. The precautionary measures were carried out by the State Police in the early hours of Tuesday, September 29, at the end of a complex investigative activity coordinated by the Public Prosecutor’s Office of Brescia – District Anti-Mafia Directorate.

The investigation began with an incident on January 9 in Ghedi. Three men allegedly accompanied a fellow national and his mother to a post office, forcing them, under threat of semi-automatic pistols, to withdraw 6,000 euros deposited in a postal savings book.

The situation was interrupted by an off-duty State Police officer, who happened to be in the office and to whom the victims reported being held hostage by the three fellow nationals. Law enforcement intervened, leading to the arrest of the three men.

Subsequent searches led to the seizure of two semi-automatic pistols: a Pic Decatur GA caliber 6.35 Browning, with three rounds in the magazine, and a Zoraki 917T caliber 38, with 18 rounds in the magazine and seven additional rounds. The latter weapon was found to have been stolen in 2021 in San Giovanni Lupatoto, province of Verona, during a burglary. Several mobile phones and 25 rounds of various calibers were also found.

From this point, investigators deepened the analysis of the seized phones, reconstructing through phone intercepts, records, and checks on social media profiles a story that, according to the investigative hypothesis, began on the afternoon of January 8.

The victim was allegedly lured by deception, kidnapped, and taken, hooded, to a farmhouse in the province of Rovigo. There he was allegedly stripped and beaten to force him to hand over the money in his possession. The kidnappers also allegedly took his credit cards and cash, going so far as to force him to make a bank transfer in favor of one of the alleged accomplices.

The violence was also recorded on a phone. According to investigators, the videos were used as an additional tool of intimidation: the victim was allegedly threatened with their release if he did not meet the kidnappers’ demands.

The following morning, January 9, the man was allegedly transferred to the province of Reggio Emilia, where he was locked in a room inside a house and subjected to further serious violence.

Five of the nine arrestees are also accused of illegally possessing semi-automatic pistols in a public place. For one of the suspects, an additional precautionary measure was triggered after child pornography material was found on his mobile phone.

The operation required the involvement of numerous State Police offices. Supporting the Brescia mobile squad in the executions and searches were the mobile squads of Caserta, Bergamo, Cremona, Mantova, Reggio Emilia, Rovigo, and Vicenza, together with crime prevention units and anti-explosive dog units.

At the end of the judicial police procedures, the arrestees were taken to Brescia prison, at the disposal of the Public Prosecutor’s Office – District Anti-Mafia Directorate.

The investigation is not yet concluded. Further checks are underway to verify possible links and complicity with other criminal environments.

In light of the seriousness of the alleged facts and the assessment of the social dangerousness of the suspects, the Brescia Police Commissioner Paolo Sartori ordered the revocation of their residence permits. At the end of any judicial proceedings and once the sentences have been served, the police headquarters will proceed, as communicated, to expulsion from Italy with forced escort to their country of origin.

For all suspects, the principle of presumption of innocence applies until a final conviction.