Man held cousins hostage for 8 months in Oraiokastro

Police in Thessaloniki on Saturday were investigating claims that a 58-year-old man had been holding two of his cousins hostage for eight months and forcing them to give him money.

According to local reports, the 58-year-old was arrested on Friday night after a 47-year-old man telephoned police and told them that he and his 48-year-old sister were being held against their will at a house in Oraiokastro, a small town near Thessaloniki.

A patrol car was dispatched to the scene and officers rescued the two siblings and took the 58-year-old into custody.

Officers were investigating the veracity of the claims of the two siblings, who accused the 58-year-old of keeping them tied up, threatening them and swindling cash out of them.

According to a police investigation, the 58-year-old abducted the two siblings in July of last year, forcing them into a...