 A favorite punishment of Raisuni's was burning out an enemy's eyes with heated copper coins.On one occasion, he returned the head of an envoy to the Pasha in a basket of melons.In 1904, Raisuni was propelled onto the international stage when he kidnapped the Greek-American expatriate Ion Perdicaris and his stepson Cromwell Varley and held them for a ransom of $70,000 ($ in 2020).