Baby Jesus Kidnapping Prank Goes Wrong
Pranksters who kidnapped a nativity display’s baby Jesus and used TikTok to demand a EUR 2,000 reward have been seized by police in Spain.
Video footage of the bizarre abduction was caught on camera as the hoodie-wearing pair snatched the life-sized Jesus from the display in Sant Vicent del Raspeig, in Alicante.
They later posted a ransom demand on social media which shows the masked pair sitting on either side of baby Jesus still in his basket with Euro banknotes scattered over its head.
Apparently using voice-changing software, they demanded EUR 2,000 for the safe return of the holy infant and warned the owners not to contact the police.
They said: “We have the child Jesus here and we want a ransom for him. We want EUR 2,000, and we ask the local police of San Vicente del Raspeig because they do not take good care of the child Jesus.”
But the pair were arrested on 18th December when police tracked them down after the model was found by passersby dumped near a rubbish bin.
The two suspects, who have not been named, are said to be aged 19 and 21.
City Mayor Jose Rafael Pascual Llopis thanked locals for their help, saying that they were key to the arrests and the recovery of Jesus.
He said that local citizens were “vital for the almost immediate resolution of the case”.
Baby Jesus was set to return to his nativity spot on 18th December, apparently unharmed by his ordeal.