A mother and her child were rescued in a daring police operation after being abducted by criminals who demanded a ransom in cryptocurrency. Seven individuals were apprehended by a specialized police unit in Boissy-Saint-Léger, France, where the victims were held captive following a home invasion.
Reportedly, four masked assailants forcibly entered the family’s residence early Monday, tying up the father before proceeding to locate the mother and her 11-year-old son upstairs. The criminals demanded a cryptocurrency transfer amounting to $400,000 (£295,000), subjected the father to physical violence, and issued threats of harm. They also looted the house, taking €10,000 (£8,600) in cash, jewelry, silver ingots, and a firearm used to intimidate the family.
Their scheme was disrupted when they realized the crypto transfer would take seven days, prompting them to abduct the woman and child as leverage before fleeing in two vehicles. The father managed to free himself and sought help from a friend, who contacted the authorities.
Authorities received distressing videos showing the victims held in a hotel room, leading them to locate the hotel in Boissy-Saint-Léger. The GIGN, the elite tactical unit of the French National Gendarmerie, conducted a successful raid the following day, resulting in the arrest of three individuals at the scene and four more suspects in subsequent hours.
French Interior Minister Laurent Nunez commended the gendarmerie investigators and the GIGN for swiftly locating and rescuing the victims. The ongoing police investigation has resulted in the arrest of several suspects linked to this case and other cryptocurrency-related crimes.
This incident adds to a series of crypto-related kidnappings in France, including a recent case where a couple in Yvelines were held at knifepoint and forced to transfer £800,000 in Bitcoin. French authorities attribute many of these “wrench attacks” to international criminal networks, often recruiting local gang members through messaging applications like Telegram.
