An Israeli national was kidnapped in São Paulo, Brazil on Tuesday and was released hours later for ransom, the Foreign Ministry said on Wednesday.
According to a statement, the 30-year-old man left for a meeting Tuesday evening using ride-hailing app Uber when a local criminal gang kidnapped him along with the Uber driver, who was left at a remote location location
The local police got the initial information about the abduction from the Uber driver.
The Israeli man was held for hours with no means to contact the outer world. The suspects made contacted his family and demanded they pay ransom for his release.
He was eventually released unharmed that night and is now with his family.
Meanwhile, the suspects also managed to draw money at a local ATM using the man's credit card.
The police later tracked the cellphones of the kidnappers as well as that of the Israeli and arrested them.
The Foreign Ministry said that “the department for Israelis abroad in the Foreign Ministry, the staff of the São Paulo Consulate-General, Consul-General Rafi Erdreich, Consul Aviel Avraham and Israel Police attaché Moshe Turjeman were in constant contact with the police and the family and aided the efforts for the Israeli's release."
Another Israeli national, businessman Moshe Benedek, was also abducted in São Paulo in July. He was released shortly after he was pulled into a car and made to pay a ransom. He was released at a remote location where Brazilian police picked him up after locating through his phone's geolocation.