Italy boxing champion arrested for kidnapping 9-year-old boy

ROME: Mirco Ricci, World Boxing Union light heavyweight intercontinental champion in 2015, was arrested on charges of kidnapping a 9-year-old whose mother he accused of having stolen drugs from him.
Rome police said late Friday that Ricci was apprehended along with his sister, mother and a 25-year-old woman, who helped him abduct the child and will face the same charges as the professional boxer.
According to authorities, Ricci and his accomplices abducted the boy early on Wednesday and threatened to kill him unless his mother paid €5,150 (RM22,580) for the missing drugs.
She turned to police late on Thursday and a day later her son was freed. Police said Ricci has had several previous run-ins with the law.
Saturday's Corriere della Sera newspaper noted that he was arrested in July 2014 for beating up a man in the street and attempting to rob him.
Days later, two men on a scooter shot Ricci in the legs for unknown reasons. — dpa