Chinese extortionists caught in Thessaloniki
Police in Thessaloniki yesterday were questioning two Chinese nationals, aged 26 and 39, thought to be members of a ring of extortionists that has been exacting large sums of money from local Chinese traders. According to police, members of the ring recently smashed up the store of one of their alleged victims using iron bars, which they also used to beat the shopkeeper. The store, which had sold clothes and accessories, was reduced to glass and rubble in the attack, according to police. The ring members are thought to have targeted the shop after its owner refused to yield to their attempts at blackmail. Officers are seeking another suspected member of the ring, which is believed to have been preying on several stores in the district of Vardari and beyond, now branded as China Town due to the large number of Chinese traders operating there.
