Four people were arrested and placed in police custody on Tuesday January 17 for acts of robbery,
Le Figaro
learned from the Rouen prosecutor's office (Seine-Maritime), confirming information from
76actu
.
These individuals, made up of three young adults and a minor, were heard by the police as part of a case of ambushes organized online.
Still according to the prosecution, the defendants admitted having, in July 2022, created a false profile on the online exchange site Coco.fr, "
the first free chat in France
" according to the words of its home page, with the aim of attracting men and robbing them with violence in Mont-Saint-Aignan, a town bordering Rouen.
These facts were repeated three times during this period, accompanied by an attempt that probably did not succeed.
Violent meetings
The technique of the suspects was well oiled.
Using the fake profile of a young woman created for the occasion, they had conversations with users of the site, mainly men between the ages of 25 and 40.
Once the victim had gained confidence, the criminals offered him a face-to-face meeting in Mont-Saint-Aignan.
Thinking of moving for a tryst, the victims were in fact awaited by several men who stripped them of all their possessions (cash, credit cards, jewelry, etc.) with great violence.
The Rouen prosecutor's office told
Le Figaro
that the four accomplices had been summoned by the heads of theft and attempted theft aggravated by violence in a meeting before a criminal court.
The minor in the gang will appear in juvenile court.