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A Rhode Island man was chained in a basement in Lilburn for nearly a week by men who wanted to collect a drug debt, according to the U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Georgia.

The U.S. Attorney's office charged three men with kidnapping and holding for ransom as well as conspiracy to distribute cocaine.

U.S. attorney's office (ENLARGE)

Oscar Reynoso, 31, was lured to Lilburn, where he was held captive in a basement for nearly a week.

U.S. attorney's office (ENLARGE)

After being beaten, Reynoso was chained up near a mattress.

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The number of drug-related kidnappings has been on the rise in metro Atlanta the last 90 days, said Rodney Benson, special agent in charge of the Drug Enforcement Administration in Atlanta.

Last week a suspected drug dealer escaped from a home in Lawrenceville where he had been held for a week with no food and little water. Police shot and killed one of the suspected kidnappers trying to pick up a $2 million ransom.

Mexican organized crime is moving large amounts of cocaine, methamphetamine and marijuana into the country, Benson said. Gwinnett is the focal point for the Mexican drug trade here because of easy access on I-85 and a large Hispanic population where drug traffickers can try to blend in, U.S. Attorney David Nahmias said.

Representatives of Mexican drug cartels in Atlanta are "clashing with each other," Benson said.

"That's pretty terrifying to most citizens in our state," Nahmias said.

Authorities gave this account of the recent case:

Oscar Reynoso, 31, originally of the Dominican Republic, was lured from Rhode Island to Lilburn to buy a car. When he arrived at his contact's house in Gwinnett July 5 he was ambushed by seven men. They beat Reynoso, duct-taped his mouth, chained his ankles to a wall and threatened him.

The captors called Reynoso's wife in Rhode Island to collect a drug debt of $300,000.

Federal agents raided the house at 755 East Fork Shady Drive on Friday and rescued Reynoso, who appeared to be severely dehydrated.

His three captors were armed with a military-style .223 rifle and a 9mm handgun, a DEA agent said. They fled but were captured. One man, Victor Abiles-Gomez, 20, hid in a sewer and was holding his breath under water when captured, the agent said.

Charged were Abiles-Gomez; Omar Mendoza-Villegas, 19, and Gerardo Solorio-Reyes, 23, all illegal immigrants from Mexico.

The three suspects had a first appearance Monday afternoon before U.S. Magistrate Judge Janet King.