Moment 'kidnap gang' caught with ransom

• Spanish police find a bag containing thousands in Bank of England notes during the raid. Picture: Getty

Five people have been arrested in France and Spain after Sahil Saeed's father handed over a ransom of 110,000 in cash for the safe return of his son, police said. Officers watched as Raja Naqqash Saeed, 28, handed over the money in a Paris street in broad daylight, and then tracked and arrested the suspects.

Sahil, from Oldham, Greater Manchester, was on holiday with his father in the Punjab region of Pakistan and was staying in his grandparents' home when he was snatched by gunmen. The boy's father returned to Manchester to pay the ransom, as instructed by the kidnappers, but was then told to go to Paris with the money.

Police were keeping watch as the cash was handed over on a street, and began monitoring the suspects as they waited for news of the child's release, police said.

Sahil was released in Pakistan on Tuesday, almost two weeks after being abducted.

The Spanish authorities were alerted to the kidnapping by Interpol and later determined that the first call demanding a 110,000 ransom payment had been made from Spain.

Three suspects – two Pakistani men and a Romanian woman – were arrested in Constanti, near Tarragona, in the Catalonia region of north-east Spain. Two of them had allegedly collected the money in Paris before returning to Spain.

A Catalonian supreme court official has confirmed that all three are to appear before a judge today, when they are expected to be charged with kidnap.

Police discovered a large amount of money – believed to be ransom cash – at the flat where they made the arrests.

A police spokesman in Tarragona said: "I can confirm two Pakistani men and a Romanian woman have been arrested in connection with the kidnap of Sahil Saeed.

"They were detained at a flat in the city. A large amount of money, thousands of euros, was found at the property during a search.

"The alleged involvement of these people in the kidnap is still being investigated, but my understanding is they are suspected of going to pick up ransom money paid for Sahil Saeed's release."

Two of those arrested are believed to work in the local justice department, according to a local paper, Diario de Tarragona.

The other two arrests were made in Paris, and French police said they were relatives of those being held in Spain.

Locals found Sahil on Tuesday, wandering in a field near the town of Dinga, about 20 miles from where he was kidnapped. He was alone, barefoot and crying, but unharmed, and appeared to have been looked after. He was handed over to Pakistani police.

Punjab's law minister Rana Sanaullah said he believed a ransom of about 100,000 had been paid by Sahil's father.

He told a local television station the money had been paid "not in Britain, but in another country".

"We are trying to bust this gang with the help of other countries," Mr Sanaullah said.

He claimed Sahil had been safe for the past four to five days.

The boy's return to the UK is being organised by the British High Commission in Islamabad.

Sahil's great-uncle confirmed that Mr Saeed would be arriving in Pakistan today to collect his son, who was held captive for 12 days.

Sahil's mother, Akila Naqqash, 31, spoke of her joy after hearing that her boy was safe.

Speaking from the family home in Oldham, she said: "I need to see him with my own eyes to believe it. The police are looking after him. We are just watching the news.

"We are not travelling out there. He will fly back, but we don't know when yet."

Mrs Naqqash, who also has two daughters aged four and 21 months, said she would give her son "a big kiss and cuddles" on his return.