2 people arrested after woman extorted and abducted, police cars rammed, Winnipeg police say
Woman, police officers not injured during wild ride
A Winnipeg woman was extorted and then abducted in a stolen vehicle this week, and when officers attempted to stop the vehicle, their cruisers were rammed, police say.
Officers were told two people arranged a meeting with a 33-year-old woman on Tuesday to return a stolen vehicle in exchange for money, but when the exchange was supposed to happen, the woman got in the vehicle and was abducted, police said in a news release on Thursday.
Cadets saw the stolen vehicle in downtown Winnipeg and called for help.
Officers and members of the canine unit tried to stop the vehicle, but the driver rammed two cruisers, police said.
No police officers were injured.
More officers, including the Air1 helicopter team, then spotted the vehicle in the North End, and a spike belt stopped it on Burrows Avenue between Sheppard and Keewatin streets.
Two people ran away from police, but were quickly caught and arrested.
The 33-year-old woman was found unharmed inside the vehicle.
Investigators say the two suspects and the woman know each other, and the suspects stole the vehicle from her on Sunday, refusing to return it until she paid them.
A 30-year-old woman and a 31-year-old woman are charged with robbery and extortion.
The 30-year-old has also been charged with three counts of assaulting a police officer with a weapon, fleeing from police and dangerous driving.
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