On December 12th, the National Police in Alicante found a Norwegian citizen who had been alone in a building in San Pedro del Pinatar. A Swedish criminal group had taken him hostage and was asking his friend and family for about 800,000 Swedish kronor (about €75,000 at the current exchange rate) as a ransom. Police from the Violent Crime Unit in Alicante and the General Police Headquarters arrested one individual in Torrevieja and three in San Pedro del Pinatar for their role in the kidnapping.
The court brought three of the arrested individuals into pretrial detention. Last week, a court in Alicante that was looking into the case agreed to let them go after hearing from the victim and confirming that it was a “misunderstanding,” that he was not kidnapped, and that the three arrested men, who were represented by lawyers José Soler Martín, Alejandro Rodríguez Vidal, and Gonzalo Martín Cano, were friends of his.
The victim also didn’t cooperate when the police found him, but they think he was afraid of getting in trouble with the group that kidnapped him. The name of the worldwide gang is “Dalen.” They deal in drugs and guns and commit violent crimes. A friend of the victim even told the authorities that one of the kidnappers had killed people in Sweden.
A relative of the kidnapped man and a friend of the victim who lives in El Campello, where the kidnappers had already stolen several American Bully puppies and were the first target of the kidnapping, raised the alarm after getting messages from the kidnappers asking for money and videos of assaults and death threats against the victim while he was being held illegally.
The National Police were able to solve the case and arrest four people for kidnapping, robbery with assault and intimidation, injuries, and being part of a criminal organisation in less than 72 hours.
A call from Norway
The investigation started when the Kidnapping and Extortion Group of the General Police Headquarters got a call on their 24-hour phone line. The Norwegian liaison officer in Spain said that the Swedish criminal group “Dalen” had kidnapped a Norwegian citizen in the province of Alicante.
The Violent Crime Unit of the Alicante Judicial Police sent agents to help with the investigation and start their own enquiries. A buddy of the kidnapped man told the police what had transpired and said that his friend might be being held in a residence in Almoradí.
The police went to the residence, nevertheless, and discovered no sign of the victim or the kidnappers. The victim’s companion also informed the police that he had met a number of Swedish people who he trusted and “without him realising it” stole 60,000 euros and gold watches.
He also says he set up a meeting with someone to talk about selling some puppies, but two of the dogs were stolen. He got a video of these dogs with his kidnapped pal. The police say that a ransom was asked for the dogs’ release, but sources close to the case have told this newspaper that the claim is not true.
The search for the kidnapped man went from Almoradí to the Torrevieja and Orihuela area and finally to San Pedro del Pinatar. There, three of the suspects were caught in a car park at the shopping centre. Police are looking for three other people connected to the case. The fourth suspect was arrested in Torrevieja.
The kidnapped man was also found in San Pedro del Pinatar. He was leaving a building by himself and was transported to a hospital to be checked out because he had many injuries to his face and chest. But he didn’t say why he was kidnapped, who did it, or any other specifics regarding his illegal confinement.
One of the detainees had the kidnapped man’s papers with him, while another person was wearing the identical shoes he wore in the video that was supplied to the family.
Author: Derek Appleton
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