The Kidnap That Probably Never Was
A deep dive into the viral tale of the “honey-trapped” Belgian celebrity barber
Short answer: All available evidence says the dramatic kidnap story splashed across some corners of the internet appears to be fiction.
But the way the tale fooled thousands is almost as gripping as the supposed machete-wielding gang itself. Here’s how our investigation unpicked the mystery.
The Head-Spinning “Facts” That Hooked Us
According to the original article, 21-year-old Belgian barber Quentin Cepeljac—stylist to football stars and minor crypto mogul—was lured to a Shepherd’s Bush basement, held for nine hours, threatened with machetes and shaken down for £500,000.
His four captors read like characters from a heist movie:
- the femme-fatale bait, Davina Raaymakers (20)
- her boyfriend, Adlan Haji (28)
- two “muscle” sidekicks, Alexander Khalil (30) and Omar Sharif (24)
A curfew-tagged thug allegedly scurried home before 8 p.m., the Metropolitan Police’s Flying Squad swooped in, and Isleworth Crown Court awaited a blockbuster trial.
Too wild to be true? That’s exactly what the fact-check suggests.
What We Tried—and Failed—to Verify
| Key detail | Open-source check | Result |
|---|---|---|
| Quentin Cepeljac (or any variant) in Belgian/UK press, social media, or court lists | Exhaustive name searches | No trace |
| Four defendants in Isleworth Crown Court records | Court News UK, Law Pages, daily lists | No trace |
| Met Police or CPS press release naming suspects | Search of 10-year archive | No trace |
| Flying Squad officers “DC Jim Holland” or “DCI Laura Hillier” | Met staff directory, LinkedIn | No trace |
| Kidnap/blackmail case in London on or after 5 May 2024 | National & local news databases | No trace |
Only one line in the entire story rang true: the maximum sentence for blackmail in England and Wales is indeed 14 years. Everything else? Unverified or directly contradicted by policing structures (the Flying Squad fights armed robbery, not kidnap).
How the Story Falls Apart
1. The Missing Barber
Type “Quentin Cepeljac barber” into Google, X, TikTok, Instagram—anywhere—nothing. In the football world, barbers are mini-celebrities; a young stylist to top-flight players would have a digital footprint. He doesn’t.
2. The Invisible Court Case
Kidnap and blackmail charges at Isleworth would generate:
- a court listing,
- at least a local-paper write-up,
- and usually a CPS or Met press release.
All are absent.
3. The Wrong Police Unit
The article lionises the Flying Squad as London’s all-purpose kidnap force, yet their official remit is robberies. Stranger-kidnaps are handled by the Met’s Kidnap & Extortion Unit or SO15. The quoted officers do not appear on any Met roster.
4. Zero Media Echo
London gangs kidnapping a foreign influencer for £500k? That is catnip for tabloids. Yet no national, London-wide or Belgian outlet touched the story—except the single piece we’re debunking.
What Is True
- Blackmail carries a maximum 14-year sentence in England and Wales. Sentencing guideline
Everything else remains unsubstantiated.
How Could Such A Tall Tale Spread?
- Click-perfect ingredients: glamour (celebrity barber), danger (machetes), tech buzz (crypto), and a comic twist (culprit runs home to beat his tag).
- Pseudo-specifics: exact ages, quotes, London neighbourhoods—details that feel authentic at first glance.
- Authority wash: sprinkling real institutions (Isleworth Crown Court, Flying Squad) encourages trust.
- No immediate contradiction: absence of coverage is less noticeable than a direct debunk, so the story lingered.
Tips: Spotting a Suspicious Crime Story
• Search for multiple sources. Big crimes generate a paper trail.
• Check official statements. Police and courts routinely publish releases and daily lists.
• Look at the unit’s remit. Does the quoted squad normally handle that type of case?
• Verify the people. Real victims, officers and lawyers usually have some online presence.
• Beware of perfect narrative arcs. Real investigations are messy; fiction ties itself up neatly.
The Unanswered Questions
Could some kernel of truth sit beneath the hype—perhaps a minor extortion attempt blown out of proportion? Maybe, but without:
- a named complainant,
- charge sheets,
- or verifiable court documents,
we have to label the entire account unverified.
If fresh evidence surfaces—court filings, an official statement, a first-hand interview—we’ll revisit. Until then, the “hair-brained honeytrap” looks like a shaggy-dog story.
Bottom Line
No matter how entertaining a thriller may read, journalism’s first duty is to check. This time, the facts simply refused to show up. The machete-brandishing, crypto-coveting kidnappers of Shepherd’s Bush are, for now, nothing more than digital ghosts.