An 8-year-old girl was kidnapped last Wednesday (29) in Kozelsk, a small city in Russia with less than 20,000 inhabitants. According to local media reports, the criminals asked the mother to pay the ransom in Bitcoin.
On Thursday (30), the child was rescued by police in a nearby town. Further afield, authorities also reported that a 37-year-old woman and three men aged 21, 40 and 44 had been arrested.
Before the case was solved, Russian media believed that the girl’s father may have been involved in his daughter’s kidnapping. Complaints from his own family and acquaintances show that he had already threatened both the mother and the child on another occasion.
The police rescue the kidnapped child and arrest four people
The criminals allegedly asked for 1.5 million Russian rubles in Bitcoin via a text message so that the 8-year-old girl could be released. With direct conversion, the amount is equal to approximately R$81,000.
While the father is accused by the family of being involved in the kidnapping of his own daughter, the mother works as a shopkeeper in a convent and does not appear to be a wealthy person.
Despite the complaints, the father has not yet been named by the police. On social media, the Investigative Directorate of the Kaluga Region Investigative Committee reported the arrest of four people involved in the kidnapping.
“Investigators of the Investigative Committee have arrested a resident of the village of Kasyanovo, Ulyanovsk district, Kaluga region, her ex-husband and their common son, as well as her current husband.”
Four people are arrested after kidnapping a child and demanding ransom #Bitcoin.
The kidnappers came from another family: ex-husband, son, current husband and a wife. pic.twitter.com/QCX0vl5jZE
— Livecoins (@livecoinsBR) December 1, 2023
Giving more details, authorities said the girl was abducted after getting off the bus on her way back from school. The suspects then took her to her home in Kasyanovo and then demanded payment of the ransom in Bitcoin.
Due to the great publicity surrounding the child’s disappearance, the suspects then took the child to another city, where they left him on the street. Finally, the girl entered the house of local residents and asked for help.
Searches and inspections are currently underway at the place where the girl was first taken. Several items, such as electronic devices, were collected for analysis. The girl was found without injuries and will undergo psychological aftercare.
Finally, the week was also marked by another kidnapping in Russia with ransom demands in cryptocurrencies. However, the victim was killed with multiple stab wounds. Among the suspects is an MMA fighter, another suspect died during interrogation.
Source: Live Coins
Barry Siefert is an accomplished journalist and author at The Nation View. He is known for his expertise in the field of cryptocurrency, and has written extensively on the topic. With a background in finance and economics, Barry has a deep understanding of the underlying technology and market forces that drive the crypto industry.
