On Wednesday, 29 November 2023, Spain’s National Police apprehended seven French males, aged 29 to 50, in a significant operation. The men are suspected of extorting, assaulting, and kidnapping a 37-year-old businessman from Marbella. The security force labelled the group as “extremely violent”.
The gang targeted the businessman in June, with one member visiting his business and proposing to buy it. When the businessman declined, the gang member demanded a monthly payment of 5,000 euros for control of the business. The businessman refused to succumb to this extortion.
Days later, several gang members forcibly removed the businessman from his premises, bound his hands, and transported him to a forested area. There, they subjected him to hours of brutal beatings, torture, and death threats, as reported by the provincial police station.
The businessman was later released near a shopping centre in Fuengirola. He was so terrified that he bypassed the hospital and went directly to the police station to report his ordeal. An investigation was initiated, and the suspects were identified.
Within a week, the assailants returned to the businessman’s premises, armed with firearms, intending to kidnap him again. Despite ongoing investigations, the police were unable to locate the businessman until he appeared at the Marbella Local Police station, bloodied and severely beaten.
In early July, a large-scale security operation was launched, resulting in the location and arrest of the alleged culprits. Five house searches were conducted in Alhaurín de la Torre, Mijas, Benalmádena, and Vélez-Málaga, involving specialist police units and officers from various local police stations in Malaga.
The provincial police station reported that the French gang also engaged in robberies among drug dealers. The police confiscated 22 kilos of marijuana, nearly six kilos of hashish, two vehicles, stolen number plates, and several firearms during the operation.
The arrested individuals were handed over to the judicial authorities for investigation into charges of kidnapping, assault, criminal organisation membership, drug trafficking, and illegal possession of weapons.
