Watch: Spanish cop kneels on British ‘thug’ in Marbella as plot to kidnap crypto broker is foiled – CSN News

In a dramatic police operation, three British men have been arrested in Spain following an alleged plot to kidnap a UK-based cryptocurrency dealer on the Costa del Sol.

The authorities released footage of the moment they intercepted the Audi that the suspects were trying to escape in on Sunday. 

In the clip, one officer is seen sitting on top of the heads of both suspects with his knee on the backside of the other.

Agents also found more than £8,000, two guns, three knives, and 25g of pink cocaine in the apartment where they were supposedly living.

READ MORE WATCH: In dramatic police chase, armed kidnappers arrested after a Malaga beach town man is taken.

The police arrested the men after the victim managed escape. It was a high stakes situation where the police subdued them at gunpoint.

The ordeal began when a 34-year-old trader accepted an invite to an apartment in Estepona after meeting by chance in Marbella. 

Police believe the trio devised a criminal scheme once they discovered the trader earned a lot of money and had access a lot of cryptocurrency.

Once inside, the men allegedly took him hostage, demanding £25,000 for his release.

The kidnappers tied up their victim, and threatened him with death if they did not get their way.

He called a friend from London, pretending to need an access code for his crypto wallet. 

He explained in Hindi that he had been held against his wishes. 

The mother of the victim was informed by the friend and alerted to the police.

Officers armed with guns had identified the Estepona house and were preparing to conduct a raid, when the victim managed escape. 

The trader, while one of his captors distracted himself on his phone, jumped off a balcony that was more than 30 feet tall, breaking both his ankles when he landed.

The officers, heavily armed, then moved on the kidnappers who tried to escape in an Audi. 

They were immediately intercepted and detained at gunpoint.

Spanish authorities have now gone public with details of the seven-hour operation, codenamed ‘Operation Espino,’ which led to the successful resolution of the case.

According to the spokesperson of the National Police, in Malaga: “Three suspects were arrested for kidnapping, injury, membership in criminal organizations, illegal weapon possession and drug trafficking. The men are in prison after a court appearance.

This latest incident is a worrying addition to the growing concern about organized crime in Costa del Sol.