Spanish tourist recounts horrific crypto kidnapping and Sexual assault in Lahore

LAHORE: In a harrowing testimony recorded before a judicial magistrate, a 40-year-old Spanish national has detailed a terrifying multi-day ordeal involving armed abduction, extortion, and repeated sexual assault inside a house in Lahore’s Defence area.

The victim, Astrid Gabriela Robinson Bracho, a resident of Alicante, Spain, recorded her formal statement under Section 164 of the Code of Criminal Procedure (Cr.P.C.) before Judicial Magistrate Section 30 Lahore Cantt, Muhammad Saghir. The case has been registered under FIR No. 1560/2026 at the Defence Cantt Police Station, charging the suspects with abduction and rape under sections 365-A and 375 of the Pakistan Penal Code.

Lured by Crypto Business Ties

According to the court documents, the victim and her associate, identified as Stephani, initially trusted the primary suspect, Muhammad Raza Dar. The victims had previously met Dar at a cryptocurrency event in Singapore, after which he entered into a business relationship with Stephani and even visited them in Spain.

Bracho stated that she had performed due diligence on Dar, who reportedly claimed to be the son of a government minister named Ali Dar. The victim noted she had verified this via Instagram photos showing Dar posing with the minister, as well as a WhatsApp profile picture featuring Dar alongside a former Prime Minister of Pakistan.

Held at Gunpoint for $800,000 Ransom

The ordeal began when four armed men stormed the residence where the women were staying, tying them up and violently assaulting them. Bracho testified that she was repeatedly punched, slapped, and threatened with weapons.

The captors actively targeted the victims for money, seizing a computer and demanding passwords to access their funds. The gang forced Bracho to send desperate texts and voice notes to her personal contacts demanding a staggering ransom of $700,000 to $800,000. At one point, Bracho resorted to writing the transmitted ransom amounts directly onto the bedroom walls.

Systematic Abuse and Torture

Over the course of several days, Bracho was subjected to severe physical trauma and repeated sexual assaults by multiple captors. She testified that a man dressed in black, along with a younger accomplice, subjected her to ongoing sexual violence and oral penetration under the threat of death.

The captors also utilized extreme psychological torture. Bracho recounted an incident where the men stripped her and threatened to mutilate her breasts with a shard of mirror and a knife. In another instance of horrific abuse, one of the armed men inserted a rifle into her vagina while ordering her to stop screaming.

A Daring Escape and Police Rescue

The captivity ended abruptly when Dar informed the women that the financial demands had been covered and that they were free to go. However, while driving them toward what he claimed was the airport, the victims realized Dar was taking a confusing route and transmitting their live location to accomplices over the phone.

Spotting their passports near Dar’s leg, Bracho managed to secretly retrieve them and hide them in her undergarments. As the women fought with Dar to accelerate, he collided with a vehicle in front of them. Seizing the moment, Bracho and Stephani jumped out of the moving car into the street, screaming for help.

Passersby and traffic police intervened, sheltering the traumatized women at a local mechanic shop called “Filter House,” where the local police were contacted. After a deeply confusing pursuit where the terrified women briefly fled a secondary police vehicle out of fear of deception, an official police convoy—accompanied by female officers—secured the victims and brought them to safety.

Legal Proceedings

The Judicial Magistrate confirmed that Bracho’s detailed statement was given entirely voluntarily, without any external influence or inducement. The local police are continuing their investigation into the high-profile extortion and assault ring, utilizing the recorded judicial statement as core evidence against Muhammad Raza Dar and his armed accomplices.