A Haitian gang boss got slapped with life in prison after running a kidnapping operation from his cell that targeted American missionaries back in 2021. Joly Germine directed armed members of the 400 Mawozo gang to grab 16 church workers from Christian Aid Ministries while they were heading back from an orphanage visit, and the crew demanded either a million bucks per hostage or Germine's release from jail. The judge also hit him with a fine on top of the sentence.
The gang held most of the victims for two months before some got released for medical reasons after a partial ransom payment went through. The rest managed to escape by walking through rough terrain for hours while their captors were distracted. Germine was already serving 35 years for gun smuggling and money laundering before this conviction landed, and prosecutors showed he ran the whole thing using contraband phones to coordinate with family members outside.
The gang held most of the victims for two months before some got released for medical reasons after a partial ransom payment went through. The rest managed to escape by walking through rough terrain for hours while their captors were distracted. Germine was already serving 35 years for gun smuggling and money laundering before this conviction landed, and prosecutors showed he ran the whole thing using contraband phones to coordinate with family members outside.
