TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — After a man surnamed Huang (黃) was kidnapped, he called a friend surnamed Hu (胡) to borrow money for ransom, not knowing Hu was his kidnapper.

According to UDN, Hu allegedly plotted the abduction after observing Huang’s generous spending habits and hearing Huang talk about making a lot of money. He contacted acquainted gang members to kidnap Huang.

On Friday (Dec. 3) at around 4 a.m., Huang was getting into a taxi in Taipei to go home after drinking with friends when a man appeared from the third row of the vehicle and threatened him with a BB gun. Huang was taken to a shack on Yangmingshan, where he was told to pay a ransom.

Only when Huang called Hu to borrow money did Hu realize that his friend was not as wealthy as he claimed to be, UDN reported. Hu allegedly pretended to negotiate with the kidnappers, “agreeing” on a price of NT$3 million (US$108,300), then realized there was no easy money to be made and instructed the kidnappers to let Huang go.

To prevent Huang from reporting to the police, the kidnappers reportedly blindfolded him and pretended to kill “another victim” before making Huang hold the gun to leave fingerprints. They warned him that he would become a suspect himself if the police investigated.

After his release, Huang was grateful to Hu, and asked how Hu paid the kidnappers. When Hu was unable to answer, Huang became suspicious and reported the incident to the police.

The police arrested the five suspects on Tuesday (Dec. 8), who are charged with kidnapping for ransom, per UDN.