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French police have arrested six people after a magistrate was kidnapped and held for several hours in a case authorities say involved a crypto ransom demand.<\/span><\/p>\n The arrests followed the discovery of the 35-year-old magistrate and her 67-year-old mother on Friday morning, when they were found injured in a garage in the southeastern Dr\u00f4me region, according to a <\/span>report<\/span> from <\/span>Agence France-Presse<\/span><\/i> syndicated on local media.<\/span><\/p>\n Prosecutors said the magistrate\u2019s partner, who was not home when the abduction took place overnight from Wednesday to Thursday last week, was targeted after the kidnappers sent her a message and a photo of the two women demanding a crypto ransom.<\/span><\/p>\n Authorities then launched a large-scale search involving 160 officers, according to prosecutor Thierry Dran, who <\/span>described<\/span> her as \u201can associate in a startup with cryptocurrency activities\u201d at a press conference on Friday.<\/span><\/p>\n The latest case in France is \u201cquite typical patterns in past wrench-type incidents\u201d involving kidnapping and extortion, though cases \u201cinvolving as many as five abductors are relatively rare,\u201d and suggest that \u201csuch a pattern is developing into organized crime,\u201d a representative at blockchain security firm CertiK told <\/span>Decrypt<\/span><\/i>.<\/span><\/p>\n The captors reportedly threatened to mutilate the victims if payment was not made quickly, though prosecutors did not disclose the amount demanded.<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cAlerted by the noise, a neighbor intervened. He was able to open the door and thus allow our two victims to escape,\u201d a translation of the conference statement reads. Dran confirmed that no ransom was paid.<\/span><\/p>\n Police have not disclosed the ages or identities of the adult suspects, citing the ongoing investigation and the involvement of a juvenile, with prosecutors saying formal charges are expected in the coming days as authorities determine each suspect\u2019s role.<\/span><\/p>\n $41M in Losses as Crypto Wrench Attacks Hit Record High in 2025<\/a><\/p>\n The case is reminiscent of earlier high-profile kidnappings in France, including the <\/span>abduction<\/span><\/a> of Ledger co-founder David Balland, who was kidnapped at his home and held for ransom in crypto.<\/span><\/p>\n Attackers severed one of the victim\u2019s fingers and sent a video to a business partner to pressure payment, before police later arrested several suspects and rescued the victim.<\/span><\/p>\n Incidents identified as so-called \u201c<\/span>wrench attacks<\/span><\/a>\u201d have resulted in more than <\/span>$41 million<\/span><\/a> in losses last year, with incidents up 75% year on year, and France emerging as a hotspot<\/a>.<\/span><\/p>\nRising ‘wrench attacks’<\/b><\/h2>\n