French authorities have arrested five suspects after a magistrate and her mother were held captive last week for around 30 hours in a cryptocurrency ransom plot.
The arrests of four men and one woman followed the discovery of the 35-year-old magistrate and her 67-year-old mother on Friday, February 6th, found injured in a garage in the southeastern Drôme department, the Lyon public prosecutor’s office said. During a press conference held later on Friday, Lyon prosecutor Thierry Dran said the magistrate’s partner—who was not home when the pair was abducted overnight Wednesday to Thursday—has a leading position in a cryptocurrency start-up.
A massive police search involving 160 officers was launched after he had received a message and a photo of his partner from the kidnappers demanding a ransom to be paid in cryptocurrency. The captors threatened to mutilate the victims if the transfer was not made quickly, Dran told reporters, declining to specify the amount demanded.
But the two women managed to free themselves and raise the alarm. They were rescued Friday morning in Bourg-les-Valence without any ransom being paid, according to the prosecutor.
Over the past year, France has been dealing with a string of kidnappings and extortion attempts targeting the families of wealthy individuals dealing in cryptocurrencies.
