They approached unsuspecting men via TikTok using the profile of a female accomplice, communicated with them, and arranged a meeting. They guided the victims to an apartment in Athens, where the female accomplice welcomed them, locked the door — and then the nightmare began.

We are talking about the ruthless members of a gang that, according to the investigation by the Patissia Crimes Unit, trapped unsuspecting citizens and then robbed them, blackmailed them, and unlawfully held them for hours in order to force them to hand over specific amounts of money.

More specifically, once the victims made the mistake of entering the apartment to meet the woman they had contacted on TikTok, they were then attacked by the other members of the group.

The perpetrators — three Pakistani men — suddenly appeared, armed with guns and knives, and seized the victims’ money as well as any valuable items they had on them.

And the nightmare didn’t end there. The perpetrators then kept them locked inside the apartment for hours, where — either by threatening their lives or using violence — they forced them to pay a specific sum of money.

Additionally, the members of the group, in order to avoid being arrested by law enforcement, filmed the victims and falsely presented them as perpetrators of theft.

Then, if the victims could not immediately find money, the gang used another member who would arrange further meetings over the phone in order for the victims to hand over the agreed amount.

As part of dismantling the gang, police arrested one of the members on the afternoon of Saturday, November 22, after a meeting that had been prearranged with a victim, during which he was supposed to collect the amount of €3,000. The other three suspects are still being sought.