back in dohuk, we visit the kurdish government's office for kidnapped affairs. inside, staff process the files of the missing. some get liberated by the army, others by paid smugglers. they charge up to 30,000 euros a mission. it's a controversial business. sometimes the government pays directly. more often, family members have to come up with the money themselves. but critics say it's not always clear where the cash goes. we're meeting abdullah sherew. 56 of his relatives were kidnapped by i.s. he paid for six of them to be freed. after that, he set up his own network of smugglers to free hostages. >> we contact many who live in areas under i.s. control. there are phases where the smugglers live in raqqa. we have smugglers who cross the border, and we have another group that brings the hostages here. >> sara is among those who were freed with his help. her own attempts to escape failed again and again. when she tried to flee for the third time, her captor took what was most dear to her -- he poisoned her children. the i.s. militants then displayed the bodies of