10-year-old Chinese girl helps free 11 men held captive by gang after finding plea for help on banknote

After a 10-year-old Chinese girl found a 20-yuan (approximately $3) banknote with a written plea for help, police rescued 11 men allegedly being held prisoner by a gang running a pyramid scheme.

The girl, from Baotou of northern China in Inner Mongolia, found the banknote, which had handwritten text that said that 11 people were being held hostage on the third floor of a building guarded by armed gang members and forced to work in a pyramid scheme, reported South China Morning Post. The girl’s family alerted the police on Monday after she told them about the note, resulting in the rescue of all 11 men.

After being lured across China to the city of Baotou in Inner Mongolia, the 11 victims, some of whom were kept captive for more than six months, were reportedly tricked with promises of stable jobs. Instead, they were locked inside the armed building and forced to recruit family and friends to join the pyramid scheme.

When the guards were not paying attention, one of the victims quickly wrote a plea for help on the banknote and tossed it out the window in hopes of someone finding it.

All 11 victims were safely returned to their homes, and the man who scrawled the note reportedly thanked his rescuers, bursting into tears. Although it is not known whether the gang members have been caught or charged by police, the case is now under investigation.

Feature Image via Getty Images

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