Overview
- Four masked men seized the victim from his home in Voiron early on 25 January after tying up three ground‑floor tenants, according to police accounts reported by TF1.
- The kidnappers demanded €3 million in cryptocurrency from the man’s son, who lives in Belarus, after which an acquaintance in France alerted authorities.
- The victim was held for about 16 hours and released that evening near Loriol in the Drôme; he was hospitalized, with his son saying the abductors tried to cut several fingers.
- No ransom was paid as the national BRI arrested three suspects that night and a fourth the next day, all aged 19 to 23 and known for drug trafficking and violence.
- The investigation is assigned to the DCOS in Grenoble under JIRS Lyon, as authorities track a rise in such crimes, with TF1 noting at least four crypto‑linked kidnappings in two months and Pnaco taking up several cases since 5 January.