Costa News Spain Breaking News | English News in Spain.
Mossos d’Esquadra are investigating a violent attempted kidnapping in Sabadell after a man was beaten with baseball bats and tried to force into a car on Thursday night.
The incident happened around 11pm, when the victim had arranged to meet someone at a point in the town. According to the early police reconstruction, he was approached by a group of five or six people using two vehicles.
Investigators say the attackers struck him repeatedly with bats and then tried to push him into one of the cars. The man managed to break free and run off before the abduction could be completed, despite his injuries.
He was taken to hospital in Sabadell for treatment, where officers were able to take an initial statement.
Police link to earlier AP-7 kidnapping
Mossos are also trying to establish whether this is the same man who was abducted in September on the AP-7, when he was pulled from a car in a daytime attack that circulated widely on social media. In that earlier case, police linked the kidnapping to a failed hashish deal in the Vallès Occidental area.
The current investigation is being led by the Criminal Investigation Division of the Mossos in the metropolitan north region. Officers are working to identify those involved and clarify the motive, which police believe may be related to organised crime.
The case comes amid a rise in so-called express kidnappings and attempted kidnappings in Catalonia this year, many of them tied to drugs, debts or disputes inside criminal networks.
Read more: Original report
