Teenager staged own kidnapping in Guayaquil to obtain a PlayStation
A 17-year-old staged his own abduction with the help of his girlfriend and friends to extort $70,000 from his father. Police apprehended four people, including the minor.
Fake kidnapping in Guayaquil: they tied up the father to demand $70,000
A 17-year-old teenager staged his own kidnapping in Guayaquil alongside his girlfriend and several friends, with the aim of extorting his family for $70,000, according to extra.ec. The motive behind the plan: his father had refused to buy him a PlayStation console.
According to an officer from the National Police's Anti-Kidnapping and Extortion Unit (Unase), the minor organised the operation with people from his immediate circle. "It wasn't any criminal gang. Everyone was involved," the agent stated.
The young man's father owns a mechanics workshop in the Mapasingue sector. On 1 June 2026, while working at his automotive paint shop, several armed individuals entered the premises, threatened him, took his belongings and apparently abducted his son.
"They staged the kidnapping, tied up the father to make the story more believable and then the boy pretended he had been taken," the Unase officer recounted.
Hours after the incident, the father began receiving messages from an international number demanding payment of $70,000 for the supposed release of the teenager.
Investigations conducted by Unase determined that there was no real kidnapping, but rather a simulation for extortion purposes. On 4 June 2026, during an operation in the Socio Vivienda sector, police apprehended three people and took the minor into custody.
"The proceedings made it possible to establish that the supposed victim was never deprived of liberty nor was in danger. The father of the supposed kidnap victim was left tied up, but nothing happened to him," the Unase agent reported.
The four apprehended individuals—including the teenager himself—were placed at the disposal of the competent authority to determine their legal status.
Source: Google News EC — Guayaquil