Kidnappers abduct two dogs, demand over 1 million ransom
Swiss police said Saturday they had solved a kidnapping involving two dogs and a demand for ransom of 1 million Swiss francs (about $1.135 million).
Zurich police said that two Bolonka dogs were stolen from the home of a 59-year-old man in Schlieren near Zurich last week, while the dog owner was away.
When the man returned, the dogs were gone, and he found a letter demanding money to release the small dogs.
Instead of paying the ransom, the man, who was not identified by name in line with Swiss privacy rules, called the police.
During the investigation, police arrested a 30-year-old Norwegian man Thursday at Zurich Airport. Police said he was strongly suspected of being involved in the theft.
Following further leads and cross-European cooperation, police in Poland then detained a 38-year-old suspect and discovered the kidnapped Bolonkas, which they returned safely to their owner Friday.
Swiss police said the Norwegian is in custody in Switzerland and authorities in Poland are further investigating the Polish suspect.
A Bolonka is a toy breed of dogs bred in Russia and sold for up to a couple of thousand dollars. (AP: Text, Excluding Headline)
•FILE – Eva, a 5-year-old Russian tsvetnaya bolonka from Pennsylvania, participates in the meet the breed portion of the 140th Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show in New York, Feb. 13, 2016. Two dogs of the same breed were returned after being kidnapped in Switzerland.
