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MADRID (Nov 7, 2008 ) : A Chinese man faked his own kidnapping as well as that of his 14-month-old grandson, before demanding a ransom from the toddler's parents to fund his gambling addiction, Spanish police said Thursday.
The toddler's father, who runs a food shop in Madrid, went to a police station in the early hours of Oct 28 to report that his son and the child's 53-year-old grandfather had been kidnapped, police said in a statement.
The man said a woman had called another family member to demand 50,000 euros (65,000 dollars) for their safe return.
In a second call made several hours later, the supposed kidnapper put the toddler's grandfather, identified only as Yimei L, on the line.
"He said he was being coerced by the kidnappers, who demanded the money," the police statement said.
Yimei then made a third call to his family where he said he had escaped but urgently needed money to secure the release of his grandson who was threatened with death.
Police located him shortly afterwards and took him in for questioning. Yimei soon admitted the story was not true. His 48-year-old accomplice, Jiantuan Y was also detained after she abandoned the baby inside a supermarket trolley.
"The woman said that her companion was the brains behind the operation and the motive was to frighten the family and get money for playing slot machines," the police statement said.
The pair will now face charges over the incident. -- dpa
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