Three alleged members of a Mexican drug cartel are in jail after allegedly bringing their brutal tactics north of the border and using them on a South Carolina man who owed them a $200,000 drug debt. The FBI says the men kidnapped a 23-year-old from his hometown in St. Matthews, South Carolina, on July 9 and held him for nearly a week while they tried to extort up to $400,000 from his family. He was rescued mostly unharmed early Tuesday from a home in rural Roseboro, North Carolina, where he was found chained to the floor and blindfolded. Authorities say the man was a drug runner, responsible for distributing marijuana and cocaine across North and South Carolina for a Mexican drug cartel.
@highlight
23-year-old was kidnapped outside his home by three alleged drug traffickers posing as cops
@highlight
Cartel members say he ripped them off of 200lbs of marijuana worth $200,000
@highlight
Gang members tried to extort man's family of up to $400,000
@highlight
FBI says up to 500 agents and officers worked to free the man
@highlight
He does not face any charges and is being treated as the victim of a crime
The kidnapping spanned two states - and the investigation involved several states and @placeholder