French police arrest five over crypto-linked magistrate kidnapping

Lyon: French authorities have arrested five suspects after a magistrate and her mother were held captive last week for around 30 hours in a cryptocurr...

Lyon: 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, prosecutors told AFP on Sunday.

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, found injured in a garage in the southeastern Drome 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 were 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.