Four French people, including three minors, were arrested and indicted in the investigation into armed robberies that occurred in April in Fort-de-France, suspected of having lured their victims on dating sites between men, a the judicial police said on Wednesday.
Meetings in a parking lot
The attackers targeted homosexual users of a dating site to arrange dates. “It’s a procedure that we know and which comes up often,” said Commissioner Anne Le Dantec, head of the territorial judicial police service in Fort-de-France.
The four victims identified by the police, men, had agreed to meet in a parking lot. They were taken to task, threatened and kidnapped. The criminals, masked and armed, led each victim to an ATM before most often leaving with their vehicle and personal effects.
The investigation opened at the end of April made it possible to get hold of a first suspect who was driving one of the stolen cars. During this arrest at the end of April, the police officers of the anti-crime brigade of Fort-de-France discovered two dummy weapons – pistol and shotgun – in the trunk of the vehicle.
Indictments and judicial controls
The individuals were brought before the Fort-de-France prosecutor’s office on Friday. The three minors were indicted and then released under judicial supervision and will be tried later in the juvenile court, according to a judicial source.
The major was also indicted and remanded in custody over the weekend. “It’s a phenomenon that worried us,” notes Anne Le Dantec. “If there is something to remember, it is that you have to be vigilant about the meetings you have on the Internet,” she commented.