Two British women have been arrested in Portugal following a kidnap prank that went a little too well.
Friends of the two women, who were all in Portugal celebrating the birthday of one of the party, had hired a Portuguese firm to stage the fake kidnapping to “spice up” the celebrations. But Portuguese police were inundated with emergency calls from witnesses to what they assumed was a genuine abduction in Lisbon’s Restauradores Square.
Panicked callers said they had seen masked men forcing two women into a white van before speeding off, prompting the police to scramble several cars to give chase. Only when the van was stopped was it revealed that the ‘kidnap’ was a prank.
The two women and their four Portuguese ‘kidnappers’ were arrested on suspicion of simulating a crime. All six could face up to twelve months in jail if the courts take a dim view of the hoax. The women claim they were not in on the joke and genuinely thought they were being abducted; a claim that might strain the birthday revellers’ friendship, since it could put the friends who arranged the jape in the frame instead.
Extreme kidnapping is the latest thrill for adrenaline junkies, who pay up to £1,000 to be abducted.
Customers of French firm Ultime Realite can buy a basic abduction package in which they are seized by strangers, bound and gagged before being bundled into a car and kept in a dark cellar for hours. Tailor-made elements of the experience include boat chases and helicopter escapes.
Customers explain what they want and once the scenario is established, they sign a contract and liability waiver but have no idea exactly when or where their abductors will strike.
Ultime Realite’s website promises: “You will go through the real sensations of violence, terror and fear of a real kidnapping – a psychological shock that you won’t forget in a hurry.” A recipe for it all going horribly wrong if ever there was one.
