Woman arrested in Minas Gerais for staging fake kidnapping

A 40-year-old woman was arrested in a hotel in central Belo Horizonte, Minas Gerais, after staging her own kidnapping to extort R$ 14,000 from her family. The Civil Police of Minas Gerais (PCMG) conducted the arrest following reports from the woman's husband and sisters, who had received messages demanding the ransom.

Investigators determined that the woman used a secondary SIM card to send the messages and coordinate the fake abduction. Surveillance footage and banking data helped authorities track her activities. Upon her arrest, the woman confessed to the scheme, stating she was motivated by debts owed to loan sharks. She faces charges of extortion.