A 12-YEAR-old boy was “abducted” by a convicted paedophile after a planned sting to catch the creep went “horribly wrong”.

The lad and at least nine of his friends reportedly lured Zain Alnoor Merchant, 37, in on Snapchat before meeting him in a car park in Airdrie, Canada.

In the hope of catching the convicted paedophile, the boy reportedly jumped into the man’s car as his friends filmed the interaction.

But moments later, the suspect allegedly drove off.

According to officers, the boy managed to escape and alert the cops when the car stopped at a red light.

Officers then attempted a traffic stop but the driver fled.

The Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP), Calgary police and a helicopter later tracked the car to northeast Calgary where they arrested Merchant.

Investigations determined that at least seven youth were involved in the scheme known as “catch a predator” – a growing trend online which involves trying to track and catch criminals.

These amateur paedophile sting operations have been heavily discouraged by police who warn they could end in violence, suicide or sexual assault.

Merchant has since been charged with abduction of a person under 14, sexual interference, and invitation to sexual touching.

He is also charged with kidnapping, forcible confinement, flight from a peace officer, and three counts of breaching a prohibition order.

Airdrie RCMP Corporal Christopher Hrynyk said: “It’s such a dangerous situation to put themselves in. 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.

“We do not encourage any of this behavior,’ said Alberta Law Enforcement Response Teams Sgt. Mark Auger. 

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

It’s not the first time amateurs have attempted a paedophile sting operation.

In 2021, Sony executive George Cacioppo was fired after being caught trying to meet up with, who he believed to be, a 15-year-old boy he had met on the LGBTQ dating site Grindr.

Cacioppo reportedly identified himself as “Jeff” and exchanged pictures with a decoy working with YouTube channel People v. Preds.

In the messages, Cacioppo is seen to ask the decoy about their sexual experience and send them pictures of his genitals.

He then gave the decoy his address in Carmen Valley, San Diego so they could meet up and have sex.

In a video posted by People v. Preds, a man who looks like Cacioppo and is wearing a PlayStation 5 shirt is seen waiting by his front door.

When confronted by the camera person who begins asking questions about who he was trying to meet up with, Cacioppo says “we can have a conversation or I can call the cops” before walking inside and shutting the door.