Man ‘kidnaps’ self in despair
A man who staged his own kidnapping in an attempt to avoid facing up to various family and financial problems has been found wandering about in a distressed state on a Thessaloniki beach, after a major police search. Anastassios Kaglatis, 56, who had emigrated to Germany, came to Greece in April to visit a relative and to buy property. Two days later, he called his wife in Germany, telling her to get a sum of money together and to come to Greece as he had been abducted by a gang of Albanians. Thessaloniki police traced the call to a phone booth in Naoussa and further investigations led to the discovery of Kaglatis, who had been sleeping rough in Naoussa, Kastoria, Kozani and Thessaloniki. He said he had been wandering around northern Greece in a depressed state because he could not deal with his problems. Kaglatis has been charged with «groundlessly mobilizing the authorities on a false charge.»
