A kidnap and ransom consultant estimated in 2010 that the kidnap and ransom industry generates $500 Million for criminal gangs each year.
In addition, The Foreign Policy Centre, a think-tank located in the Untied Kingdom, estimated in 2001 that “kidnappers globally take home well over $500 million each year – and rising.”
Sources:
Joe Kelly, “The business of kidnapping,” The Australian, February 17, 2010.
Rachel Briggs, “The Kidnapping Business,” The Foreign Policy Centre, 2001, pg.1,
(accessed: February 19, 2007).