Two Belgians and one Frenchman have been arrested in Spain after they tried and failed to kidnap a local.
The attempted kidnapping took place on Friday night in the Benitez district of Ceuta, a Spanish city on the African continent, HLN reported on Monday. The region is known for drug smuggling activities.
According to local media, the perpetrators were “hitmen” who were caught while trying to “settle” matters with a 27-year-old man who is thought to have owed drug dealers €2 million.
Witnesses saw a BMW driving through the streets at high speed. Several men (four or five total) got out of the vehicle and tried to push an unidentified man into their car. Gunshots were heard shortly after.
When the police arrived, the men had locked their victim into the BMW’s trunk after hitting him with a rock.
When the kidnappers spotted the police, they tried driving into the police vehicles before getting away in two separate cars (the BMW and a Volkswagen Golf). One of the men also tried to grab a police officer’s gun.
One or two kidnappers succeeded in their getaway by driving off in the Volkswagen, which was later found abandoned. In the car, police found balaclavas, black gloves, several mobile phones and two rocks covered in blood. They also found expensive watches and €6,000 in cash.
The three men in the BMW were forced into the pavement by police. The kidnappers then got out of the car and tried to hide in nearby bushes. The police used heat-seeking cameras to find and subsequently arrest the men.
The victim was freed from the trunk and taken to the hospital. His condition is currently stable.
Amée Zoutberg
The Brussels Times
