Norwegian police arrest three in hoax kidnapping plot

KRISTIANSAND, Norway, July 9 (UPI) -- Norwegian police said they arrested two young women and a young man accused of staging a kidnapping to get ransom money.

Per Kristian Klausen, who is leading the police investigation, said the women, ages 18 and 21, and the man, 22, pretended to be kidnapped in Kristiansand as part of a plot to get money from one of their families, The Local.no reported Tuesday.

"They have been arrested for attempted blackmail," Klausen said. "They tried to blackmail family members by using a fictional kidnapping."

"I have never seen anything like it," Klausen said.