Kidnapping gang chief detained in Baaquba

DIALA / IraqiNews.com: Police forces on Tuesday arrested a gang leader specialized in kidnapping officials and rich men in central Baaquba, the local police chief said. “A police force waged on Tuesday (Mar. 17) a security raid in central Baaquba, where it arrested Wesam Emad Hesham, the leader of a gang that kidnaps and blackmails governmental official and rich men,” General Abdul Hussein al-Shemri told IraqiNews.com news agency. “He confessed to implementing several kidnapping operations, including kidnapping the manager of Iraqna Company,” he added. Baaquba, the capital of Diala, is 57 km northeast of Baghdad. SH (P)/SR 1