Kozhikode: In a joint operation, the Nadakkavu police and a special squad from Malappuram rescued a young man who had been kidnapped from Kozhikode town in the early hours of Friday.

Rahees, a Wayanad native in his 30s, was abducted by an eight-member gang. According to the police, all the accused are from Wayanad. They reportedly approached Rahees when he went to meet his female friend at Jawahar Nagar in the city and later abducted him.

Alerted by the woman, police rushed to the spot and pursued the vehicles. The youth was later rescued, and all eight abductors were nabbed from Kozhippara in Kakkadampoyil, located on the Kozhikode–Malappuram border.

The youth’s friend, who is reportedly a model and also a Wayanad native, is in the custody of Nadakkavu police. It is suspected that the gang trapped Rahees with the help of the woman over a financial dispute.

According to sources, the gang intercepted and kidnapped Rahees around 1 am on Friday when he went to meet the model. He was taken to Kakkadampoyil in two cars, including the one he had been using.

Nadakkavu Station Inspector N Prajeesh is questioning both the youth and the kidnappers at the police aid post in Kakkadampoyil, which falls under the Thiruvambadi station limits. During interrogation, Rahees stated that the gang assaulted him after consuming drugs inside the car.

Rahees, an NRI working in the UAE, had been staying in Kozhikode city away from his family in Wayanad.

A special squad from Kozhikode city police and Nadakkavu police, led by Sub-Inspector Shibu, tracked the vehicles using mobile tower locations. The Malappuram squad also joined the operation and nabbed the accused. Support from the secret investigation team and night patrolling units of the police also helped chase down the gang within hours, a police source said.