Two parents accused of taking children to drug buy
Police in Thessaloniki, northern Greece, have arrested a couple for endangering their children after they were held briefly hostage by a dealer their father allegedly tried to rob during a drug buy.
The incident unfolded on Monday night in the suburb of Dendropotamos when the couple – a man aged 32 and a woman aged 40 – went to buy drugs from the home of a 52-year-old man living in a Roma camp in the notoriously crime-ridden area. They drove to the location in their car, taking their children with them.
According to reports on Tuesday, the 32-year-old allegedly stole two baggies of heroin from the 52-year-old’s home as they conducted their transaction and then drove away, prompting the dealer and his three sons to give chase.
The dealer intercepted the family near the KTEL intercity bus station and forced them back to his house, where he and his sons held them against their will for around an hour, giving the 32-year-old a beating but leaving the woman and the children unharmed.
All the adults involved in the incident have been arrested, while the children were taken to a hospital in Thessaloniki where doctors confirmed that they were in no physical danger. It was not clear whether the children have been or will be removed from their parents’ custody.
