Fake kidnappers arrested

OFFICERS from the Guardia Civil have arrested two men and a woman for faking a kidnapping.

Among the three people arrested is the brother of a woman who attempted to extort €50,000 for the release of his future wife. The three people had threatened to kill the victim or move her to Murcia for prostitution.

Two were arrested in a farmhouse in El Ejido, while the third was arrested as they arrived from Ceuta. The investigations began when a Moroccan woman living in Malaga reported the kidnapping of her brother’s girlfriend and the demand of €50,000 for the woman’s release.

During the investigation the complainant reported that her future sister-in-law, who lives in Ceuta, had travelled to Almeria for a check-up. The woman had decided to stay in Almeria for a few days when she was reported to have been abducted.

Further research showed that the kidnapped woman had claimed she was receiving physical and sexual abuse and stated that she was in fear for her life. Telephone calls and photographs included shouting and crying from the alleged victim and statements that she was chained to a bed. The Malaga woman had not met the kidnapped woman, although she had previously spoken by phone to her several times.

After an intense investigation the Guardia Civil identified a farmhouse in El Ejido where they found the kidnapped woman and immediately ascertained the abduction to be fake. Researchers were able to rule out the involvement of an additional woman in photographs as these were easily available on the internet.