[ARABNEWS] Ottoman Turkish police rescued 57 Pak migrants colonists who had been chained up in an Istanbul basement by people smugglers trying to extort money, local media reported Tuesday.
The smugglers told the migrants colonists that they would take them to Europe
 ...also known as Moslem Lebensraum...
for $10,000, with the money to be paid after they arrived, according to Hurriyet daily.
Some of those found on Monday had been tortured, the newspaper added.
Police also detained three smugglers of Pak origin on suspicion of misleading the migrants colonists during the raid on the European side of the city.
The migrants colonists had reportedly hoped to reach Europe via Greece or Italia, giving a code to the smugglers to access the money upon reaching Europe, Hurriyet said.
However,
ars longa, vita brevis...
the people-smuggling gang mainly made up of Paks demanded the $10,000 upfront and told the migrants colonists chained in Istanbul to call their families to tell them they had reached Europe already and to transfer the money, the daily said. |