A Syrian family kidnapped a voodoo sorcerer from Cameroon after he stole €15,000 given to him on the promise that he’d double their money using dark magic, a court in Germany has heard.
The migrant family living in Magdeburg was arrested last month on suspicion of unlawfully detaining 31-year-old Cameroonian priest, Lionel N., who allegedly took a cash payment from the father and vowed to make them rich.
He told the family to leave the money with him for a couple of days and he would use a magic liquid to double the sum.
He gave them a location for a rendezvous a few days later, however, when the Cameroon national failed to show, the family tracked him down at his apartment on Jan. 4.
The Leipzig regional court heard on Thursday how the head of the family, 48-year-old Jamal M., kidnapped the priest with the aid of his two sons, Muhamad, 26, and Fadi M., 23, and two other family members.
Masked with balaclavas, the group dragged the priest out of his apartment on Langen Lene, and kidnapped him. He was allegedly beaten by the group as they demanded the return of their money, but the African priest refused to divulge its location.
Suspecting the lump sum was hidden in his apartment, the family returned to Langen Lene two days later where they were met by police officers and arrested.
The priest, Lionel M., has also been charged with fraud and is due to stand trial.
The funds have still not been recovered.