After a 10-year-old Chinese girl found a 20-yuan note (about $3) with a plea for help written in it, police freed 11 men allegedly being held captive by a gang running a pyramid scheme.
The girl, from Baotou in northern China’s Inner Mongolia, found the banknote with handwritten text saying 11 people were being held hostage on the third floor of a building and guarded by armed gang members and forced to work in a pyramid scheme. reported the South China Morning Post. The girl’s family alerted police on Monday after telling them about the note, resulting in the rescue of all 11 men.
After being lured across China to the city of Baotou in Inner Mongolia, the 11 victims, some held for more than six months, were reportedly tricked with promises of steady jobs. Instead, they were locked inside the armored building and forced to recruit family and friends to join the pyramid scheme.
When guards weren’t careful, one of the victims quickly wrote a cry for help on the bill and threw it out the window hoping someone would find it.
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All 11 victims were safely returned to their homes and the man who scrawled the note reportedly thanked his rescuers and broke down in tears. Although it is not known if the gang members were caught by the police or charged, the case is now under investigation.
Featured image via Getty Images
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