On February 16, 2020, in the early afternoon, a couple was the victim of long-term extortion at their home in Belle Plaine (Quartier d'Orléans). Two individuals, brandishing a weapon, wanted to be given a large sum of money that the protagonists had seen a few hours earlier in the hands of one of the victims appearing on social networks.
Unsuccessful, the criminals threatened to attack the infant present in the home, then one of them ended up shooting one of the victims in the foot, who succeeded despite the injury to to escape. Very quickly on the spot, the gendarmes made the observations and exploited the first testimonies allowing them to direct their investigation on criminals domiciled partly Dutch. The case took a turn when on August 25, 2021, during a roadside check, a motorcyclist refused to obey a gendarmerie patrol. The latter was arrested by the search device set up and was quickly confused as being one of the two criminals. He will be placed in pre-trial detention as part of an opening of information for the facts of theft aggravated by 3 circumstances, violence aggravated by 2 circumstances and death threat. Judged on March 22, 2023, at the Basse-Terre court, the defendant was sentenced to 7 years in prison with continued detention and a permanent ban from French territory. The Public Prosecutor of Basse-Terre and the Gendarmerie would like to point out that they are making every effort to ensure that the perpetrators of these particularly serious acts are tried. They recall the firmness in the fight against the detention, the illegal transport and the use of firearms which constitute a priority for the soldiers of COMGEND Guadeloupe. Finally, they recall that the use of social networks is a privileged means for criminals to choose their victim. Good digital hygiene, as well as use in a restricted circle, are encouraged. “As an example, the broadcasting of a live broadcast at a party is of capital importance for the criminal who wishes to rob your home. He then has the certainty of being able to commit his act in complete serenity. And Colonel Wintzer-Wehekind concludes: “This case is enlightening on two points. The first is the relevance of flow control, which helps to secure the use of a congested road network, to fight against trafficking, and to apprehend wanted people.
These checks are therefore intended to continue and even intensify. The second point reminds us that in Saint-Martin as elsewhere, the cyber threat exists. Digital is a medium of action favored by criminals who can use it exclusively (Ransomware, Blackmail) or combined with physical actions in the material world. In a territory that consumes a lot of social networks, a little digital sobriety does not harm, quite the contrary”. The gendarmerie recalls that an information site on cyber risks is available to the inhabitants of the islands of Saint-Martin and Saint-Barthélemy (https://www.cybermalveillance.gouv.fr/) and that the gendarmes are present to answer their questions in the area.
https://faxinfo.fr/en/justice-un-homme-condamne-a-sept-ans-de-prison-pour-vol-aggrave-violence-et-menace-de-mort/
