Kidnapped football star used phone to call for help
A MEXICAN footballer was kidnapped in his home town but was rescued hours later after he managed to call police while his captors were distracted, authorities said yesterday.
Alan Pulido, a striker in Mexico’s squad in the 2014 World Cup in Brazil, had a bandage on his right hand when he appeared briefly at a news conference alongside Governor Egidio Torre Cantu in the crime-plagued north-eastern state of Tamaulipas. The 25-yearold player said he was “very well, very well, thank God.”
The abduction shone a spotlight on the murders and kidnappings afflicting the state, where thousands of people have disappeared and drug cartels have fought brutal turf wars for years.
Pulido, who plays for the Greek club Olympiakos, was kidnapped by four men late on Saturday after he left a party in his home town of Ciudad Victoria, authorities said. Officials earlier said six gunmen were involved. “During a mo- ment of inattention by the captors in the place where he was located, he was able to make a phone call and ask for help, giving his location and we were able to immediately rescue the victim,” said Ismael Quintanilla, the state prosecutor.
One man was arrested during the operation, Mr Quintanilla said, adding that the suspect was from the neighboring state of Veracruz and was a member of one of the gangs operating in Ciudad Victoria.
Enrique Galindo, a federal police chief, said Pulido had a minor injury but was “safe and sound”. The player underwent a medical examination after his rescue.
Galindo told Radio Formula that there was “no violence” during the rescue. There had been a negotiation but no ransom was paid, he said. The kidnappers apparently kidnapped Pulido because he appeared to be wealthy “or because it could give the kidnappers a nice profit,” Galindo said.