Retired Army soldier is kidnapped while working as an app driver on the coast of SP

The retiree said he was working in Guarujá (SP), when he accepted a "round trip" trip to São Paulo (SP), on Saturday (24). Upon arriving to pick up the passenger in Praia Grande, a man approached and announced the robbery, entering the car from the back seat.

According to the report, another armed suspect took control of the vehicle and ordered the driver to move to the back seat. The pair took the retiree's watch while trying to make loans and bank transfers using his cell phone.

As the transactions were unsuccessful, the man was threatened with death and suffered gun butts. When they discovered that he was retired from the Army, they asked him to call a captain friend, asking for R$5,000 to be released. The transfer was also not carried out.

At one point, two more men entered the car, one of whom was armed with a rifle, but they got out shortly afterwards.

The victim said that they filled up the car at a gas station, where he was attacked again and the kidnappers said: "We're going to leave you somewhere. We just want the car to get away."

The driver was left near a Concessionária Novo Litoral (CNL) base, in Praia Grande, where he asked for help. According to him, the criminals took R$160 in cash, the car valued at R$118,000, the cell phone and the watch.

The Military Police Operations Center (Copom) received a report about armed men in a residence. When police arrived at the scene, they found two men and a teenager. The three tried to escape, but only one of the men managed to escape.

During the approach, police found the spare tire from the driver's car and a replica rifle. At the back of the residence, they also located a building similar to a prison, with traces of drug use and several cell phones scattered around.

The teenager stated that she had just arrived at her boyfriend's house and that the rifle belonged to his brother. The man approached said that he had disagreements with his brother, as he had been arrested in 2021 for a crime that, according to him, the family member committed.

The man added that he was leaving the residence when he was approached by the police and saw his brother flee. The app driver recognized the two men, while the teenager was released.

The suspect was arrested and taken to the Judiciary Police Center (CPJ) in Praia Grande. In the unit, two other app drivers reported having been kidnapped by the same group that week.