‘He Took Out A Gun And Casually Started Loading It, While Telling Us How Much We Owed Him’

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By Alan Clabby

I was on holiday in Crete with a group of friends, and had rented a car to get us to and from the place one half of the group was staying, 20 minutes away.

We were swimming one day and having a few drinks, as you do on a lads holiday, when one of the lads thought it would be funny to throw my car key in the pool.

Long story short, the immobiliser was broken, so the car wouldn’t start – and I had no choice but to call the dealer and tell him what had happened.

But then, within minutes, two cars of angry Greek men had arrived to inspect the damage. Two of us were squashed into the cars with all these guys, and driven to the dealer’s shop where we were brought into a room with frosted glass windows that nobody from outside could see in.

The bill was €800, and there was no two ways about it – we were paying.

One guy stood in front of the door with a baseball bat while the boss sat behind his desk. He takes out a gun and a box of bullets and casually starts loading the gun, while telling us how much we owed him.

The bill was €800, and there was no two ways about it – we were paying.

Back to the hotel we went, and I was ordered to go in and get the €800 while my friend was held hostage in the car. and he wouldn't be released until I returned with the cash.

We paid them and that was that – but just two days into our holiday we had to call home and get wired over some cash to fund the rest of our holiday.

‘Kidnapped Abroad’, I call that story.

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