Two more suspects detained in kidnapping ring inquiry

Police have detained two more suspects in a cross-border kidnapping and torture inquiry linked to organised crime, broadening a case that has already seen four people remanded in custody in Marbella.

The latest arrests were carried out in Marbella, while the alleged ringleader was held in Tarifa after returning from Morocco, according to the investigation described by officers. The case forms part of a joint operation involving Spanish, Belgian and Dutch police.

This is a follow-up to CNS’s earlier report on the judicial phase of the case, which can be read here.

How the investigation widened

According to the newly reported details, the operation has now led to 10 arrests in total, with the most significant detentions made in Marbella and Tarifa and the others in the Netherlands.

Investigators say the gang was not just involved in drug trafficking but also in kidnappings carried out on behalf of other criminal groups, some of them linked to the Mocro Mafia. Police sources said the organisation used different roles within its structure, including drivers, guards and torturers.

The inquiry began in February after relatives of the victim, Spanish nationals of Moroccan origin living in Ceuta, reported the kidnapping in Spain. Officers were given a video showing the captive lying face down, naked and bound, while being beaten and sexually assaulted with a broom handle.

Investigators say the kidnappers demanded €600,000, apparently in compensation for the loss of half a tonne of cocaine they blamed on the victim during transport from southern Spain to the Netherlands.

Escape and allegations of torture

The victim later escaped by jumping from a moving vehicle in Belgium and reaching an Esso petrol station in Lokeren, where he alerted police. He told investigators he had been held for days in a warehouse in Rotterdam used as a torture site and later moved to a safe house in Utrecht.

He described seeing other captives, including one whose fingers had been amputated, while he himself was allegedly beaten and sexually assaulted during the ordeal. Police say forensic material recovered from the locations has helped support the investigation.

Earlier this year, seven people were detained in the Netherlands in the first phase of the operation. The latest arrests suggest officers are continuing to pursue the alleged leadership of the group as the inquiry moves on.