Boy, 12, 'abducted by paedophile' after youngsters' attempted sting goes horribly wrong

A 12-year-old set about trying to catch a known offender. (Image: Getty)

A 12-year-old was kidnapped after his attempt to snare a known offender went horribly wrong. The boy and around nine of his friends concocted the scheme in Airdrie, Canada, which was designed to trap a 37-year-old man using Snapchat. A meeting was arranged with Zain Alnoor Merchant, and the child got into the man's car of his own accord while his friends filmed it. A spokesperson for the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) said: "One 12-year-old male got into the suspect's vehicle voluntarily so that the other youth could record the interaction.

"This is when the suspect drove away." The boy managed to escape the vehicle when it stopped at a red light and called the police. Merchant refused to stop after being chased. Eventually, the RCMP, Calgary police and a helicopter his car to northeast Calgary, and the man was arrested. He has been charged with abducting a person under 14, sexual interference, invitation to sexual touching, kidnapping and forcible confinement.

The RCMP has issued a warning to youngsters. (Image: Getty)

Merchant was also charged with fleeing from police, as well as three counts of breaching his probation by contacting a minor and using the internet.

Trying "amazingly dangerous" stings - made popular by the long-running Dateline segment "To Catch a Predator", hosted by Chris Hansen - have become more popular among young people, the police said.

"It's such a dangerous situation to put themselves in," ,' Airdrie RCMP Corporal Christopher Hrynyk said, according to the MailOnline.

"We don't encourage anybody to take these vigilante steps."

"We've had more than one investigation on file with this offender, which again speaks to the dangerous and high-risk nature of meeting strangers, conversing with strangers," said Alberta Law Enforcement Response Teams Sgt. Mark Auger.

"We do not encourage any of this behaviour. 

"A lot of these setups and these stings will end in violence, in suicide, in sexual assault. It's not worth the risk."

Merchant appeared at the Airdrie Court of Justice on Thursday and will remain at the Calgary Remand Centre until a bail hearing next Thursday.