PARIS, Feb. 17 (UPI) -- French police suspect a kidnap victim in Paris, who was tortured and killed, may have been trapped by an attractive woman.
Investigators think the killing of the 23-year-old shop assistant identified as Ilan was the work of a group of young men and women from the housing estates of the city's suburbs, reports The Times of London. The group is believed to have made half a dozen similar kidnap attempts prior to the latest one three weeks ago.
Police say in all such attempts the intended victim, always a young man, received a call from a young woman, who then exchanged telephone numbers, the report said.
Ilan was befriended by a woman in his shop before he was abducted. He was found, naked, bound and gagged near a railway, with more than 80 percent of his body burnt.
In e-mail to police, the abductors had sent Ilan's pictures and had made various ransom demands up to nearly $575,000. Police say at least three suspects are of African origin.
