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Sushil and Radhika Chetal were looking at homes when their Lamborghini Urus was boxed in on a leafy residential street. A white Honda Civic slammed into them from behind, and a white Ram ProMaster van cut them off from the front, trapping their SUV, according to Danbury police.
Six men dressed in black and wearing masks jumped out of the vehicles. The attackers dragged the Chetals from their car, according to a criminal complaint filed after the incident.
When Sushil resisted, the men beat him with a baseball bat and "threatened to kill him," prosecutors told The New York Times. They bound the couple’s arms and legs with duct tape, forcing Radhika to lie face down. She begged for help, telling them she had asthma, but the men warned her not to look at them.
The Times reported they wrapped Sushil’s face in duct tape and hit him several more times as they sped away in the van.
Neighbors who witnessed the terrifying scene called 911. An off-duty FBI agent who lived nearby followed the kidnappers' vehicles, giving police vital information, including partial license plate numbers, according to court documents.
The kidnapping was tied to an enormous Bitcoin heist worth $243 million, The Times reported.
The six members of the heist crew had blown through millions, buying 31 cars — most of them luxury brands — renting expensive homes, and spending freely on nearly everything they desired.
Despite their considerable wealth, their life on the lam didn't last long, according to The Times. Danbury police and the FBI were able to track them down within a month, the report said.
Six men were arrested shortly after the attack. Five have pleaded guilty and are awaiting sentencing, officials said.
Federal prosecutors now say James Schwab, a Georgia man, helped organize and pay for the attack, staying in contact with the kidnappers and arranging their travel and hotel stays, the U.S. Attorney for Connecticut said.
Schwab was arrested months later at Los Angeles International Airport after returning from Bali, the U.S. Attorney’s Office said.
Click here to read the full New York Times report.
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