Overview
- Police say investigators traced the probe to Clément L., an 18‑year‑old held at Villepinte prison who is accused of directing a criminal network from his cell using contraband phones and Snapchat.
- Authorities detained Clément L. around August 19 and formally charged him in Nanterre on August 21 for robbery in an organized band while the court ordered pretrial detention and isolation.
- The inquiry began after an April fake‑delivery attempt and a later armed robbery at a Neuilly‑sur‑Seine watchmaker, where fingerprints and vehicle tracking helped connect suspects to the prison‑based operator.
- Forensic teams have seized multiple mobile devices and plastic ties and say those phones contain a 26‑entry list of possible victims that included Mbappé; investigators stress the evidence points to a planned project, not a confirmed kidnapping.
- Officials are continuing digital and physical forensics to identify accomplices and any concrete preparations, and the case has prompted closer scrutiny of how contraband phones enable criminal networks inside French prisons.