French police arrest six over crypto-linked magistrate kidnapping

French authorities arrested six suspects, including a child, after a magistrate and her mother were held captive for about 30 hours in a cryptocurrency ransom plot. Four men and one woman were detained — three overnight and two on Sunday morning, Lyon prosecutor Thierry Dran said; he later confirmed a child had also been arrested.

The 35-year-old magistrate and her 67-year-old mother were found injured in a garage in the south-east Drôme department on Friday morning. The women managed to free themselves and began banging on the garage door; a neighbour opened it and they were rescued in Bourg-lès-Valence without any ransom being paid.

A 160-officer search was launched after the magistrate’s partner received a message and a photo demanding payment in cryptocurrency. The captors threatened to mutilate the victims if the transfer was not made quickly, Dran said, while declining to specify the amount.

France, Bourg-lès-Valence

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