Plot to kidnap Mbappé and other French VVIPs uncovered
A teenager has been arrested for plotting the abduction of Real Madrid star Kylian Mbappé and other wealthy individuals in France, it has been reported.
Clément L, 18, has been labelled as the mastermind of a gang he allegedly operated through Snapchat, under the alias “Lester Z”, while in prison for pimping and armed robbery.
Trawling through his two mobile phones, authorities found addresses and information linked to 26 targets.
Mbappé, who has an estimated net worth of around £200 million, is the most prominent.
The gang also targeted a rapper, a Turkish meat trader, and a jeweller, all with enormous fortunes.
The plot began to unravel when two alleged gang members armed with handguns robbed a watchmaker’s shop in Paris in May, according to Le Parisien.
The pair made off with 11 luxury watches worth £128,000 before fleeing the scene on a scooter.
One suspect was arrested half an hour later after crashing his two-wheeler into a truck, and a second was arrested shortly after.
The investigation eventually led police to Clément and an accomplice.
“This young man was already in prison for serious offences, and now he is turning up in a new case involving a rapper and a renowned footballer,” the Advocate General told the court this morning.
“Only solitary confinement in prison can make him understand the reality of the situation, given the chaotic, criminal life he leads.”
Clément’s criminal record includes two convictions for drug-related offences and one for violent robbery.
He dropped out of school while studying for a vocational qualification in cooking, according to reports.
“I know the offences are serious,” the young man told the court.
During questioning, he tried to downplay his involvement in the gang.
So far, Clément maintains that he was not the mastermind – but merely an intermediary between a mysterious boss and the foot soldiers who carried out the act.
In his defence, he said: “I’m being held in solitary confinement, surrounded by madmen and terrorists, and I don’t think that’s going to improve.
“I really want to become a chef; it’s been a dream of mine since I was very young.”
