Over 12 suspects, including minors, have been taken into custody by French police in connection with recent crypto-related kidnapping cases in Paris.
A report from local media claims that the arrests were carried out on the morning of 27 May by the Brigade de Répression du Banditisme (BRB), France’s specialised anti-gang unit.
The suspects, including several minors, were detained in coordinated operations across Île-de-France and Loire-Atlantique with assistance from other police units.
Authorities believe the two high-profile kidnapping attempts, one involving the father of a crypto entrepreneur and another targeting the daughter of a crypto exchange CEO, are linked.
Investigators suspect the involvement of a larger criminal organisation that allegedly recruited operatives via social media platforms to execute the abductions.
The first case, which occurred on 1 May, involved the kidnapping of the father of a wealthy poker streamer and cryptocurrency investor. The victim was abducted by four masked men using a stolen van disguised with a fake UPS logo.
The kidnappers reportedly demanded a ransom of €5 to €7 million in cryptocurrency. To pressure the victim’s son, they mutilated the father by severing a finger and filming the act. He was eventually rescued by police during a raid in Palaiseau, south of Paris.
In the second incident, on 13 May, three masked men attempted to abduct a 34-year-old woman in broad daylight in the 11th arrondissement of Paris.
The woman, later identified as the daughter of Pierre Noizat, CEO and co-founder of crypto exchange Paymium, managed to escape with the help of bystanders, including her partner, who was physically assaulted during the struggle.
The assailants fled the scene in a van branded with Chronopost markings.
So far, six individuals have been charged and remanded in custody in connection with the first case. Those arrested are reportedly young and were recruited specifically for the operation. In the second case, arrests had not been made until this latest sweep.
As previously reported by crypto.news, the French Interior Ministry has since stepped up protection measures for prominent crypto executives and their families.
France has become the epicentre of a growing wave of crypto-targeted violence, with at least six such incidents recorded this year alone. The trend follows the January kidnapping of Ledger co-founder David Balland, who was tortured during a ransom attempt involving €10 million in crypto.
