StellarCrowandClaude Fable 5.1
439e83a4cb
Second and third rounds on the dossier pipeline, reviewed locally before commit. Retrieval - wayback_pass.py: retries every BLOCKED/DEAD/THIN/ERROR linked source through the Wayback Machine; blocks carry the snapshot date, archive URL and the live verdict. 143 slots retried: 93 fetched, 37 no snapshot, 12 script shells, 1 PDF. - fetch_sources.py: fetch_wayback() helper. - add_extra_sources.py: files staged extra_* finds (web search, not on the DB record) into the store with a provenance note. - Cases re-sourced by web search: 248 (Oslo: Document.no, Avisa Oslo, NRK; the linked Le Parisien piece is case 242 and is marked OFF-CASE), 258 Kharkiv, 260 Singapore, 358 Bangkok, 365 Las Vegas, 388 Verneuil-sur-Seine, 390 Zoersel, 430 Homestead. 341 of 364 cases now hold a fetched article; 11, 66 and 399 have no public text source (podcast, police video, direct victim report). Trimming - auto_trim.py: case-anchored furniture cut for UNTRIMMED blocks. Finds the body run that mentions the case, merges across subheadings and short furniture gaps, drops teasers, share bars, date/URL/caption lines and subscription pitches; refuses pages with no record term or almost no body. 302 blocks trimmed; 16 left on auto-trim-review.md (7 OFF-CASE suspects). Every cut is labelled AUTO-TRIMMED, UNREVIEWED in the dossier; the full extract stays in staging/. Decisions with anchors in trim-decisions-auto.json. - build_cases.py / verify_all.py: banners for auto-trimmed and archived blocks, staged-file check extended to Wayback blocks, flag legend under the record. Detention rule - README "Definitions": the DB field `kidnappings` is the DETENTION violence type (victim, guard, staff or relative held to force submission or execute the theft), distinct from the Kidnapping scenario (taken away and held). - detention-flag-review.md / detention-flag-corrections.json: 40 records reviewed with evidence; 30 set-to-1 proposals accepted by the owner on 2026-09-06 (listed in corrections-approved.md), 10 still open. - apply_detention_wording.py: "Violence Used" in the 70 reviewed summaries now names detention explicitly (62 of 70 labelled), supported by the summary's own text; idempotent; supersedes the batch scripts' wording. Worklist and docs - sofia-worklist.md: 248 decisions, detention rule item replacing the old "no abduction" item, fresh-search section for the textless cases. - README-START-HERE.md: progress notes, run commands, next steps. - Bug fixed in passing: Wayback blocks stored in-memory text with carriage returns; now stored as read back from disk. verify_all.py PASSES (2321 checks). Co-Authored-By: Claude Fable 5.1 <noreply@anthropic.com> Claude-Session: https://claude.ai/code/session_01GZZENdTLzNGsbNy4DyF1yt
136 lines
9.3 KiB
Plaintext
136 lines
9.3 KiB
Plaintext
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CASE 049 | 13y old boy | January 17, 2019 | South Africa
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DATABASE RECORD
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id 49
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date January 17, 2019
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original_date January 17, 2019
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year 2019
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month 1
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quarter 2019-Q1
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victim 13y old boy
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location Mpumalanga
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country South Africa
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scenario Kidnapping
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description 13 y old boy kidnapped for crypto ransom, second kidnapping of a girl foiled by the police.
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kidnappings 1
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violence_torture 0
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drugs_alcohol 0
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weapons 0
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theft 0
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life_taken 0
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money_wanted R1.5m
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coin_type BTC
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reports TimesLive
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notes not in lopps list, second attempt on a girl foiled by bystanders because she screamed for help
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has_processed_date 1
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created_at 2025-11-13 05:44:45
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(flag legend: 'kidnappings' is the DETENTION flag — 1 when the victim was held against
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their will at any point, tied, locked in, held at gunpoint or taken away; it is NOT the
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same as the 'Kidnapping' scenario, which means taken away and held. See README, Definitions.)
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AI SUMMARY [generated at bulk import, NOT verified against sources]
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**Victim:** 13y old boy
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**Attackers:** Unknown number of perpetrators
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**Attack Method:** Kidnapping for ransom
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**Violence Used:** Threats/intimidation
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**Crypto Stolen:** R1.5m in BTC
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**Status:** Attack prevented/foiled
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LINKED SOURCES
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[url] https://www.timeslive.co.za/news/south-africa/2019-01-17-mpumalanga-police-arrest-two-bitcoin-kidnapping-suspects/
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NOTES ON THIS FILE
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* matched to sheet row 50: exact match on victim + year, unique on both sides
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------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
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ARTICLE 1
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Source TimesLive
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URL https://www.timeslive.co.za/news/south-africa/2019-01-17-mpumalanga-police-arrest-two-bitcoin-kidnapping-suspects/
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Origin reported_K&R sheet, row 50, column "Articles"
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Length 2,750 chars
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------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
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Mpumalanga police arrest two Bitcoin kidnapping suspects
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January 17, 2019 at 08:17 amThe suspects, both aged 37 were part of targeted suspects linked to multiple cases of armed robbery, carjacking and kidnapping within the Sekhukhune district. (File/Stock Photo)
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Mpumalanga police, after months of hard work, have arrested two people alleged to be behind the kidnapping of a Witbank teenager and the attempted kidnapping of a girl from Middelburg.
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The incidents happened in May and August 2018.
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In the Witbank case, the suspects demanded ransom in the form of Bitcoins for the safe return of the 13-year-old boy. Police suspect a similar plan in the second case, had the abduction succeeded.
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"These cases were the first of their kind in Mpumalanga and a task team comprising of different units within the South African Police Service was immediately established by police management to investigate this matter," said Brigadier Leonard Hlathi.
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"The dedicated formations left no stone unturned in their investigation, knitting all clues and eventually their efforts yielded positive results as the suspects were arrested thereafter at different locations," he added.
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The suspects behind the kidnappings in the neighbouring towns are men aged 30 and 31. One was nabbed in November in Germiston in Gauteng, while the second was arrested in Ladysmith, KwaZulu-Natal, on December 30.
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The first victim was the Witbank boy, who was snatched near his home on May 20 as he walked back from a nearby spaza shop with a friend.
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Part of the brazen kidnapping, which happened in broad daylight, was captured on a neighbour's CCTV camera.
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TimesLIVE saw the footage, which showed the moments the boy was forced into a silver-coloured Toyota Corolla‚ which sped off with him inside, while his friend stood in disbelief.
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After his parents rushed to the police station to report the kidnapping, they returned to find a ransom note in their yard. The amount demanded was the equivalent of R1.5m.
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A few days later, he was reunited with his family unharmed. Police had not disclosed whether any ransom had been paid for his safe return.
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"A few months later, on 21 August 2018, the suspects attempted to kidnap a 13-year-old girl in Aerorand, Middelburg," said Hlathi.
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"They dragged her into their vehicle, a VW Polo, but the girl shouted for help and was heard by a group of people working nearby, who swiftly came to her aid and helped her escape.
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"The suspects fled the scene, thereafter leaving their vehicle abandoned with their belongings inside. During the investigation, it was established that they (suspects) had the same intentions as in the first case," Hlathi said.
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The two suspects appeared in court on Tuesday and were granted R1,000 bail each, Hlathi said.
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------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
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FETCHED ARTICLE 1 [AUTO-TRIMMED — UNREVIEWED]
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!! Furniture was cut by a script keyed on this case's record, not by a person.
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!! It may still carry passages about OTHER cases from a round-up article.
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!! The full page extract is kept in staging/ if a cut needs revisiting.
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Source timeslive.co.za
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URL https://www.timeslive.co.za/news/south-africa/2019-01-17-mpumalanga-police-arrest-two-bitcoin-kidnapping-suspects/
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Field url
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Retrieved 2026-09-05T12:55:03+00:00 via raw HTTP retrieval, deterministic extraction (HTTP 200)
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Language unknown
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Kept paragraphs headline [0] + 1-17 of 23
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Length 2,868 chars
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Integrity sha256 bc069c1f522605e6d76a73efafc1e4c22a73baf466173b256337590e7c735e65
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Trimmed AUTO-TRIMMED, unreviewed: kept paragraphs 1-17 plus headline [0]; dropped 0 leading and 5 trailing paragraphs. Case-term hits on page: 7.
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Caveat retrieved from a live page on the date above. Unlike text copied
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from the spreadsheet, there is no second copy to hash it against.
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------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
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ORIGINAL (unknown, verbatim as retrieved)
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Mpumalanga police arrest two Bitcoin kidnapping suspects
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Mpumalanga police, after months of hard work, have arrested two people alleged to be behind the kidnapping of a young Witbank boy and the attempted kidnapping of a girl from Middelburg.
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Mpumalanga police, after months of hard work, have arrested two people alleged to be behind the kidnapping of a Witbank teenager and the attempted kidnapping of a girl from Middelburg.
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The incidents happened in May and August 2018.
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In the Witbank case, the suspects demanded ransom in the form of Bitcoins for the safe return of the 13-year-old boy. Police suspect a similar plan in the second case, had the abduction succeeded.
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"These cases were the first of their kind in Mpumalanga and a task team comprising of different units within the South African Police Service was immediately established by police management to investigate this matter," said Brigadier Leonard Hlathi.
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"The dedicated formations left no stone unturned in their investigation, knitting all clues and eventually their efforts yielded positive results as the suspects were arrested thereafter at different locations," he added.
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The suspects behind the kidnappings in the neighbouring towns are men aged 30 and 31. One was nabbed in November in Germiston in Gauteng, while the second was arrested in Ladysmith, KwaZulu-Natal, on December 30.
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The first victim was the Witbank boy, who was snatched near his home on May 20 as he walked back from a nearby spaza shop with a friend.
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Part of the brazen kidnapping, which happened in broad daylight, was captured on a neighbour's CCTV camera.
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TimesLIVE saw the footage, which showed the moments the boy was forced into a silver-coloured Toyota Corolla‚ which sped off with him inside, while his friend stood in disbelief.
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After his parents rushed to the police station to report the kidnapping, they returned to find a ransom note in their yard. The amount demanded was the equivalent of R1.5m.
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A few days later, he was reunited with his family unharmed. Police had not disclosed whether any ransom had been paid for his safe return.
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"A few months later, on 21 August 2018, the suspects attempted to kidnap a 13-year-old girl in Aerorand, Middelburg," said Hlathi.
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"They dragged her into their vehicle, a VW Polo, but the girl shouted for help and was heard by a group of people working nearby, who swiftly came to her aid and helped her escape.
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"The suspects fled the scene, thereafter leaving their vehicle abandoned with their belongings inside. During the investigation, it was established that they (suspects) had the same intentions as in the first case," Hlathi said.
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The two suspects appeared in court on Tuesday and were granted R1,000 bail each, Hlathi said.
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According to Markets.com‚ Bitcoin is a finite‚ decentralised digital currency which is not tied to any government or bank.
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================================================================================================
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generated from attacks-export-Gart-website.json + reported_K&R | case 049
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================================================================================================
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