Reggio Calabria, kidnapped and robbed: homophobic attack on a man lured online.

The Carabinieri of the Reggio Calabria Company have arrested three young people aged between 28 and 30, originally from the province of Reggio, accused of the crimes of kidnapping for the purpose of extortion, aggravated personal injury and improper use of payment instruments.

On the night of May 22nd, during a patrol service in via Pineta Zerbi, the Radiomobile Section of the Reggio Calabria Company stopped an Audi A3 for a regular police check. The occupants of the vehicle, three boys, apparently awkward and agitated in their movements, seemed to be wasting time in providing their identification documents. The circumstance aroused the suspicions of the military personnel of the Arma who, therefore, proceeded to carry out a check inside the vehicle, finding in the dashboard several credit cards, two mobile phones, a set of keys from another car and the identification card of a Professional Order. When the operators asked to know who the material belonged to, no one was able to provide explanations and, for this reason, the Carabinieri personnel began to carry out investigations to trace the owner of all the effects found.

The Carabinieri, following continuous research, They identified the car to which the keys in the possession of the three young people belonged, parked near the former municipal beach of Reggio Calabria, and, not far away, they immediately helped a young man who, shocked and in a state of shock, immediately recognized the aforementioned as those who, shortly before, had beaten and robbed him..

The victim, in fact, reconstructed to the military what had happened previously, explaining that that night he had decided - through an advert published on an online dating site - to get in touch with a stranger, obtaining an appointment at the aforementioned seaside area. After being lured, However, upon his arrival he had not found a potential partner, but three ferocious attackers who had first threatened him and beaten him with sticks and, subsequently, robbed him of his wallet and cell phones in his possession. In the circumstance the criminals constantly insulted him with homophobic phrases, holding him on the ground for several hours – immobilized and under constant surveillance – while they searched his car and went on several occasions to withdraw hundreds of euros in cash, using the stolen credit cards. After completing the criminal action, the kidnappers fled on board their vehicle, only to be stopped at the aforementioned checkpoint by the military of the Reggio Calabria Company.

The Carabinieri personnel also promptly transported the unfortunate man to the GOM in Reggio Calabria, where he was hospitalized for the multiple traumas inflicted on him throughout his body.

Those arrested, with specific precedents for crimes against property and drugs, theApril 11 last they had been referred to the Judicial Authority for a similar episode. In province of RovigoIn fact, with the same modus operandi they had lured a man and, once they had accessed his home, they had tied him with cable ties and repeatedly hit him on the head with the butt of a gun, in order to rob him.

The Carabinieri is committed daily to preventing the phenomenon of online solicitation and to protecting the victims of these serious crimes, often committed with a homophobic background, whose criminals exploit the web to gain people's trust. Today more than ever it is essential to be aware of the risks that come from careless use of social networks, the effects of which can have repercussions in real life.