RABAT: Moroccan authorities have arrested a French-Moroccan man suspected of involvement in recent kidnappings in France targeting individuals with crypto wealth, a source with knowledge of the arrest said on Wednesday.
French Justice Minister Gerald Darmanin thanked Morocco for the arrest in a post on X, without giving further details of the charges or incidents.
The 24-year-old man, named by a separate Moroccan police source as Bajjou Badiss Mohamed AmiDe, was subject to an Interpol red notice and wanted by France on charges including participation in organized crime, kidnapping, and extortion.
The police source said that since Bajjou is a dual national, he will not be extradited and will be tried in Morocco on the charges he is facing in France.
French authorities had passed details of the charges to Moroccan counterparts so that the man can face justice in Morocco, the source added.
The Paris prosecutor’s office did not respond to a Reuters request for comment.
France has seen a wave of kidnappings targeting the crypto sector, including one in January of a co-founder of French crypto company Ledger, which left the victim missing a finger.
This month, a botched attempt to kidnap a crypto company CEO’s daughter on a busy Paris street left crypto entrepreneurs in France fearing for their safety and was seen by some as a symptom of France’s growing problem with organized crime.
Suspected crypto kidnappings mastermind arrested in Morocco
https://arab.news/nspmt
Suspected crypto kidnappings mastermind arrested in Morocco
- France thanks Morocco for arresting 24-year-old after kidnappings targeting French crypto entrepreneurs
Turkiye intercepts uncontrolled drone over Black sea
ANKARA: Turkiye shot down an uncontrolled drone approaching its airspace over the Black Sea, the defense ministry said.
The incident follows Turkiye’s warning last week of Black Sea escalation after Russian attacks on Ukrainian ports that damaged three Turkish-owned cargo vessels.
In a statement, the ministry said Turkish and NATO F-16 jets were put on alert to ensure the security of Turkish airspace after the detection of the drone.
It was determined that the drone was out of control and it was shot down in a safe area, the ministry added in Monday’s statement, but did not elaborate on its type or origin.
The attacks on Ukrainian ports came days after Moscow threatened to “cut Ukraine off from the sea” following Kyiv’s attacks that damaged three ‘shadow fleet’ tankers heading to Russia to export its oil in the Black Sea.
