Duhok police arrest Mosul family over electronic extortion of young woman

DUHOK, Iraq — Police in Duhok have arrested three members of a family from Mosul accused of trapping a 21-year-old woman on social media and blackmailing her with intimate photos and videos, a provincial police spokesperson said. Duhok Provincial Police Directorate media officer Colonel Heymen Sulaiman said the suspects obtained the images by luring the woman online, then demanded money to prevent their release. The investigation began two days ago after the woman's family filed a complaint at the Malta Police Station in Duhok, saying she had been forced to pay more than $8,000, according to Sulaiman. Officers identified the main suspect as a resident of Mosul who carried out the extortion with the help of his father and uncle, and at times his mother, the spokesperson added. When the suspects traveled to Duhok to collect another payment, Malta Station officers, working with the Duhok Asayish directorate, detained the son, father and uncle. During interrogation, all three admitted to receiving varying sums from the victim at different times, Sulaiman said. The suspects were detained under Article 452 of the Iraqi Penal Code. Sulaiman said the investigation is continuing and no further details were immediately available.