An Italian member of the European Union’s diplomatic corps was the victim of an “express kidnapping” in Brasilia, a crime that has become commonplace in the Brazilian capital, police said Wednesday.
The diplomat was abducted by two armed men Tuesday night in city’s affluent Asa Sul district while he and a family member were getting into their car.
The assailants forced the official to take them to Ceilandia, a poor suburb where both victims were released. The assailants then sped away with the vehicle and some items belonging to the diplomat, whose name was not released.
So-called “express kidnappings,” in which the victims are temporarily abducted and typically forced to withdraw as much as possible from ATM machines, have become a prevalent crime in Brasilia.
A month ago, the daughter of Brazil’s fishing and aquaculture minister, Marcelo Crivella, also was the victim of an express kidnapping in Asa Sul.
Some 50 officers with the elite National Public Security Force have been deployed to combat express kidnappings in Brasilia, where between five and 10 such abductions occur every day, according to authorities.
