The contribution of the Belgian authorities was requested by French justice, regarding the abduction of a newborn, just 17 days old, from a maternity hospital in Paris.
The newborn was kidnapped on Monday night from the Robert Ballanger hospital, in Aulnes-sous-Bois, in the Paris region, by his parents, aged 23 and 25, who are thought to have already fled to Belgium.
“The important work carried out immediately by the judicial police investigators leads us to believe that the couple may have traveled to Belgium with the child at night,” said French prosecutor Eric Matte in an ongoing press release.
A very premature baby, with an estimated life expectancy of around 12 hours without medical care, according to a police source.
How was the kidnapping perceived?
The kidnapping happened between 11pm and 11:30pm last night and the hospital became aware of the fact by disconnecting the heart rate sensors.
As I learned from a police source at Agence France-Presse, security forces were notified during the afternoon by staff from the neonatology unit about the disappearance of a premature baby, who needs constant medical care.
“The examination of material from closed circuit cameras confirmed that the parents left with some kind of black bagpossibly with a light-colored vehicle, in which three other people were traveling,” said the prosecutor.
In the afternoon, neither the baby nor the parents were located, the court learned.
According to the Bobigny Public Prosecutor’s Office (near Paris), both parents “are already known to the police and judicial authorities”, without giving further details. As part of this investigation into a gang kidnapping, investigators this morning arrested five people aged between 16 and 29 on the outskirts of Paris and took them into custody, the prosecutor said. According to a source with knowledge of the case, the detainees belong to the “environment” of their parents, who are known to the police and judicial authorities.
The court ordered the urgent repatriation of the child, “if found”.
The criminal investigation continues “very actively, in cooperation with the Belgian judicial and police authorities”, concluded Eric Maté.
“Santiago, a 17-day-old newborn boy, blond hair, wearing a brown T-shirt size six months and white velvet pajamas, was kidnapped from the maternity ward of the Robert Ballanger Hospital in Aulnes-sous-Bois,” a press release said today press release from the Ministry of Justice, where it is specified that the baby is premature. needs “constant medical care.”
Searches were carried out at the parents’ homes, who live in the suburbs of Paris, as well as at the addresses of their relatives, without success. Furthermore, the police tried in vain to contact the baby’s mother by phone.
Sources: AMPE, AFP