This photograph shows a garage at the foot of a building where two women were found injured in Bourg-les-Valence, in the Drome department, southeastern France on February 6, 2026. ALEX MARTIN / AFP
French authorities have arrested six suspects, including a minor, after a magistrate and her mother were held captive last week for around 30 hours in a cryptocurrency ransom plot, prosecutors said on Sunday, February 8.
Four men and one woman were detained, three overnight and two on Sunday morning, Lyon prosecutor Thierry Dran told AFP. He later confirmed a minor had been arrested on Sunday afternoon.
The individuals were taken into custody following the discovery of the 35-year-old magistrate and her 67-year-old mother on Friday morning, found injured in a garage in the southeastern Drôme region. Two of those arrested overnight were detained as they attempted to take a bus to Spain, according to a source close to the case speaking on condition of anonymity.
Authorities continue to actively search for further suspects, a second source close to the case said, adding that the woman in custody is the partner of one of the four male suspects.
