Key facts
- Four masked individuals broke into a home in Vendin-le-Vieil, France, on Sunday.
- The intruders held a couple and their two children hostage for over three hours.
- The father, a salaried IT specialist in the crypto sector, was forced to provide access codes.
- Approximately $46,000 (€40,000) in cryptocurrency was stolen.
- The case is being investigated as kidnapping and extortion by an organized gang.
- All four suspects remain at large.
Four masked individuals broke into a family home in Vendin-le-Vieil, France, in the early hours of Sunday, holding a couple and their two children hostage for over three hours. The father, identified as a 40-year-old salaried IT specialist in the digital currency sector, was separated from his family and assaulted, being forced to provide his identification information and access codes. His twelve-year-old daughter was reportedly struck in the face with car keys. The intruders stole approximately €40,000, equivalent to $46,000, before fleeing the scene. Firefighters arrived at the house around 7 a.m. The victims, described as being in a state of shock, were referred for forensic medical examination, and a victim support association has been assigned to them. The Béthune prosecutor's office has opened an investigation into unlawful detention and extortion by an organized gang, with the case handed over to regional judicial police and France's anti-cybercrime office. All four suspects remain at large.