Egypt: Aunt kidnaps niece for ransom with lover’s aid

Cairo: An Egyptian girl, aided by her lover, had kidnapped her niece to press for a ransom from the child’s parents, a local newspaper reported.

Police in the Nile Delta governorate of Sharqia were notified that a two-year-old child mysteriously disappeared while playing outside the family’s house.

Police investigations showed that the child’s aunt has an affair with a jobless man and that she planned to kidnap her to demand a ransom from her parents and use the money in covering their marriage costs, news portal Al Youm Al Saba reported.

The man, assisted by three others, kidnapped the girl and then called her father, demanding a ransom of 100,000 Egyptian pounds (Dh23,398) to free the child.

Chased by police, the offenders set the child free without getting any money.

Police later arrested the suspects including the child’s aunt. Local prosecutors ordered the five remanded pending interrogation.