Mexico City police got a surprise Saturday when they mounted an operation to free a six-year-old child kidnapped last Tuesday in Ecatepec, México state.

The kidnapper who showed up to claim the ransom money was 13 years old.

Parents of the kidnapped child had gone to police after they received a ransom request of 50,000 pesos (US $2,600). They settled on 35,000 pesos instead and the kidnappers arranged to exchange the child for the money at the Basilica of Guadalupe just as mass was about to begin.

As per instructions, the cash was left in a trash can, following which the 13-year-old showed up with the kidnapping victim and retrieved the money.

Police intervened and arrested the boy who then identified three associates who were waiting nearby. They too were arrested, and the six-year-old restored to his family.

The youthful kidnapper said he was unaware that he was involved in a crime and had merely agreed to retrieve the cash from the garbage can in exchange for 500 pesos.

Source: El Universal (sp)