A gang that uses fake profiles on the Grindr dating app to lure victims has struck again in Ciudad del Este. On Saturday morning, a 36-year-old Brazilian man from San Bento, in the state of Paraíba, was held at gunpoint, kept captive for three hours, and robbed after accepting a date arranged through the platform.
According to the police report, the victim had been chatting in the days prior with a man who identified himself as "Wilson." The meeting was arranged, and the Brazilian was picked up in the city's microcenter by a man on a black and green enduro-type motorcycle. He was taken to an isolated area in the lower part of the San Rafael neighborhood, where he was ambushed by a group of eight to ten armed and hooded men.
The criminals, described as young men between 20 and 25 years old, with one appearing to be between 30 and 40, subdued the tourist. They took an iPhone 15 Pro Max and forced him to make bank transfers totaling approximately 20,000 Brazilian reais. The victim was held captive on the banks of the Paraná River during the process. After the robbery, the assailants gave him 100,000 Paraguayan guaranis to pay for a motorcycle taxi back to Brazil, but the man later returned to Paraguay to file a police report.
This is the latest in a series of identical cases recorded in the San Rafael neighborhood. The previous weekend, a Colombian man was robbed in the same manner, losing cash, jewelry, and being forced to make transfers. On June 26, a 22-year-old man from the state of Bahía was held captive for nearly 18 hours and suffered an estimated loss of 100,000 reais, as he later reported to Rede Globo.
Investigators from the Paraguayan National Police indicate that most of the victims are Brazilians visiting Ciudad del Este for tourism or shopping. The modus operandi is consistent: the criminals create attractive profiles, establish trust over a few days, arrange a meeting, and a motorcyclist takes the victim to an isolated area near the river, where the armed group carries out the robbery. Escape is facilitated by the narrow access points to the Paraná riverbank.
In light of the repeated cases, Grindr has issued safety recommendations, encouraging users to verify contacts' identities via video call, arrange first meetings in public places, share their location with trusted people, and report any suspicious activity to authorities and the platform.