A young Indian American businessman, whose family owns a chain of liquor stores in Washington, was abducted in the capital area and released the next day after his brother paid $18,000 in ransom, police has said.

The family of Aswin Patel, 27, owns several liquor stores in Prince George's County in the capital area. He himself runs a store.

He was abducted on Friday night at 10:30 pm by three men who claimed to be FBI agents, handcuffed and driven to the neighbouring Montgomery County before being freed by Montgomery County officers who chased the car for speeding and running a red light, police said.

His brother apparently paid the ransom before the kidnappers were caught. The car crashed during the chase and the men in it were arrested.

Police found Patel on the floor in the back, with his wrists and ankles bound and his face wrapped with duct tape.

"He is messed up right now," the brother who paid the ransom told The Washington Post, speaking on condition that he not be identified.

He said his brother suffered a broken leg during the ordeal but has been released from a hospital. "He is very emotionally messed up," he said. "He could have been killed. We are just so thankful that the police had their eyes open and they stopped this," he added.