Easy target and big loot, that's the credo of these teams of thieves who roam the beautiful neighborhoods. A woman, aged 77, was attacked and kidnapped by two men at her home this Wednesday in Paris (6th arrondissement). They made off with a hoard of 100,000 euros in bank notes and precious jewelry.
It was 10:50 a.m. when the police were called to this accommodation located near the Notre-Dame-des-Champs metro station. Officials discovered a retiree in a state of shock who had taken refuge with her neighbor. She says that she has just been the victim of a “scheme”, carried out by a team of scammers who did not hesitate to assault her.
Tuesday evening, she received a phone call from her bank. Well, that's what she thinks. A stranger posing as her bank advisor tells her that she is the victim of a scam. She informs him of the next visit of a courier. This delivery man had to give him a new bank card, supposedly, to thwart any further fraud.
But the next day, at 9:50 a.m., it was not one man, but two, who showed up on the doorstep of the septuagenarian, with an envelope which was supposed to contain a new card. When she opens the door, they violently push her into the apartment, gag her with duct tape and tie her hands with a belt. One of the attackers threatens to cut off her finger with a knife. They therefore demand access to the safe. But the retiree doesn't have any.
The thugs search the premises and discover a trapdoor in the bathroom. Inside, they got their hands on a sum of 50,000 euros in bank notes. The burglars also took 50,000 euros worth of jewelry and the old lady's cell phone.
Investigators from the third judicial police district are responsible for carrying out the rest of the investigations. They will try to trace telephone lines, video surveillance images and fingerprints to identify the perpetrators.
