Meknes – Police in Spain’s Malaga province arrested four Moroccan nationals on suspicion of kidnapping two other Moroccans for ransom, according to Spanish outlet SIGLO XXI.
The suspects, aged between 25 and 35, threatened to kill the victims if their families refused to pay.
Authorities will charge the four Moroccan suspects with kidnapping and belonging to a criminal organization, Spain’s Civil Guard said on Wednesday.
The case dates back to September 30, when the suspects put the 25-year-old captives in a vehicle on the A7 highway between Alicante and Murcia. The suspects used another vehicle to avoid any problems with police controls and headed to the Malaga province, according to the same source.
After the suspects contacted the victims’ families, one of the captives’ sister and mother reported the case to the Spanish Civil Guard in the province of Alicante. The suspects had warned the families not to go to the police if they wanted to reunite with their relatives.
The provinces of Alicante, Madrid, and Malaga mobilized police units to rapidly address the case.
Through an investigation, they located the Moroccan kidnapping suspects in a single-family home in the city of Fuengirola, southern Spain. Under police pressure, the alleged perpetrators released the victims, SIGLO XXI reported.
One of the families chose to pay the ransom and not tell the police, the source added.
Police searched the house after freeing the hostages. Security services seized the phones the suspects used to call the families and demand a ransom. They also seized, among other items, two vehicles used in the crime and cash.
