Who is 'Lester Z,' the young man identified as the mastermind behind a plot to kidnap Kylian Mbappé and 25 other people?
The young man remains in prison and has been placed in solitary confinement, while an alleged accomplice has been released under judicial supervision.
Image of Mbappé
An 18-year-old man, identified as Clément L., was arrested in France and is accused of being the alleged mastermind behind a series of assaults and several kidnapping plots targeting wealthy individuals, including business people, a rapper, and soccer player Kylian Mbappé.
According to reports from Le Parisien this Wednesday, Clément L. was charged on August 21 in Nanterre, in the Hauts-de-Seine department, with robbery as part of an organized gang. The young man remains in prison and has been placed in solitary confinement, while an alleged accomplice was released under judicial supervision.
The incidents under investigation are believed to have taken place or been planned between April 11 and August 19 in Neuilly-sur-Seine, Saint-Brice-sous-Forêt, and Santenay. The investigation began following an attempted assault on a watchmaker in Neuilly-sur-Seine.
On April 25, around 9:00 a.m., three men posing as deliverymen arrived at the watchmaker's home with an empty box. The shop owner suspected it was a trap and did not open the door. The three fled and left the box behind.
Days later, on May 4, the same watchmaker's store was robbed in Paris. Two men armed with pistols burst into the store, shoved the manager, and stole 11 luxury watches valued at 150,000 euros before fleeing on a motorcycle. One of the suspects was arrested about half an hour later in Asnières-sur-Seine, after crashing into a truck.
The Paris Banditry Suppression Brigade (BRB) took charge of the investigation. Officers followed the trail of the attempted robbery in Neuilly-sur-Seine and found fingerprints on the abandoned box. They also identified the vehicle used by the suspects, which was traveling on the Paris ring road with fake license plates matching a real registration number.
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A list of 26 potential targets
The investigation led to Clément L., who was already in pretrial detention for other offenses related to rape and pimping, as well as another case involving robbery by an organized gang.
From his cell at the Villepinte correctional facility in Seine-Saint-Denis, the young man allegedly gave orders via Snapchat using the alias Lester Z.
Prison officials seized two cell phones from him. According to a source close to the case cited by Le Parisien, investigators found 26 addresses on the phones corresponding to singers, soccer players, and business people who all shared the common trait of being wealthy.
Among the targets were a Chinese wholesaler in Paris's 19th arrondissement, jewelers, and a Turkish-born meat wholesaler in Val-d'Oise, described as a millionaire. Among those he allegedly intended to target were also a rapper and Kylian Mbappé, according to a judicial source cited by the French newspaper.
On August 19, investigators arrested Clément L. as he was leaving the Bobigny courthouse. The young man was scheduled to stand trial for a pimping case, but the trial was postponed. He had been released and placed under judicial supervision.
A second suspect was subsequently arrested. Investigators suspect he was the owner of the vehicle used to transport the robbery perpetrators to Neuilly-sur-Seine. During the searches, plastic zip ties and five iPhones were found, which were still being analyzed.
The defendant claims he was not the ringleader
During questioning, the young man reportedly admitted to the crimes, though he tried to downplay his involvement. According to his account, he was not the one who organized the plans, but rather an intermediary between an alleged ringleader and the individuals tasked with carrying out the actions.
"I know the charges are serious," he stated on Wednesday before the Versailles investigative court, according to the French newspaper. He also questioned his continued placement in solitary confinement.
The investigative court decided to keep him in prison and in solitary confinement.
"I'm in solitary confinement, surrounded by crazy people and terrorists, and I don't think that's going to make me feel any better. I really want to be a chef; it's been my dream since I was a child," the young man said in remarks reported by the French newspaper.
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