CHENNAI: A pharmacy owner in Kilpauk was kidnapped on Wednesday by a duo posing as policemen who let him off after his wife paid them Rs 67,000. The duo claimed that he was selling painkiller tablets without a doctor's prescription and took him away from the shop, under the pretext of an inquiry, police sources said.

The victim, Prabhakaran, has been running a pharmacy near his house for the last 17 years, police sources said. On Wednesday, two men entered his shop and asked him if he was selling prescription drugs.

When Prabhakaran denied it, the duo claimed that they were policemen and took him in their two-wheeler to a secluded spot where they negotiated a deal with him. They made him call his wife and let him off after she paid them Rs 67,000 in cash.

Prabhakaran then approached the Ayanavaram police to report the incident following which he learned that he was duped. Police have detained two persons in connection with the incident and are investigating.