3 men facing kidnapping, robbery and other charges in crypto theft: Montreal police

A Montreal police (SPVM) car. (Daniel J. Rowe, CTV News)

Montreal police (SPVM) said on Thursday that officers arrested three men in connection with a kidnapping and violent $15,000 cryptocurrency theft in Verdun last summer.

Two suspects were apprehended in Toronto and the third in Montreal’s Southwest borough on March 11.

Lévi Steward-Barachin, 34; Daniel Mosiah Honoré-McFarlane, 30; and Omar Abdul Singateh, 23, are facing breaking and entering, forcible confinement, aggravated assault, extortion and other charges in relation to the Aug. 15 event where police say three armed suspects burst into a Verdun apartment.

“They tied up the victim, a man in his 30s who ran his own cryptocurrency business,” the SPVM said in a news release. “He was then beaten and tortured by his assailants for several hours. After succeeding in obtaining from the victim the details required to enable a cryptocurrency transfer, the suspects fled.”

A relative found the victim, who was taken to the hospital with non-life-threatening injuries.

Steward-Barachin is also facing drugs, weapons and false identification charges.

The three men remain in custody.

The SPVM partnered with Toronto and Peel police to conduct searches in Montreal, Toronto, and Brampton, where they seized various items for evidence.

Police believe other people could be linked to the Aug. 15 crime and are asking those with information to call 911 or 514-393-1133.