Penang police chief Commissioner Abdul Ghafar Rajab said the suspects, aged between 23 and 38, were rounded up on Sunday.

The victim, who was abducted outside his home in Bukit Jambul on Wednesday morning, was found bound and gagged in a rented apartment in Bayan Lepas, also on Sunday.

The ransom money was not paid.

Police have remanded the nine suspects, including a woman, until October 9 to facilitate investigations.

According to the police, the kidnapping of the money changer was “well planned”, and every member had their designated roles to play.

“Nearly all of them (the suspects) have prior criminal records, from extortion to drug use. You name it, they are in it,” he told a press conference at the Ivory Tower, Jalan Dato Keramat here today.

The victim was dragged into a van as he was about to make his way to a foreign exchange outlet at the Bukit Jambul complex, not far from his house, on Wednesday.

The victim was then taken to the rented apartment where he was held captive, and asked to contact his family for ransom.

Police managed to track down one of the kidnappers soon after the family lodged a police report. The others were picked up after the man was questioned.

The victim was given a clean bill of health following a check-up at Penang hospital.