British couple arrested for fake kidnapping

A BRITISH couple have been arrested in Guardamar for allegedly faking a kidnapping.
It is said they devised a plot in which the woman pretended to have been kidnapped in order to extort a ransom of £5,000 (€7,000) from her parents in the UK.
Receiving death threats and photos of their daughter tied up and bruised, her parents called police in the UK who launched an investigation. Working with the British National Crime Agency (NCA) and the Guardia Civil’s specialist kidnapping and extortion unit, Operation Saxony was launched.
Through their investigations and surveillance, the woman was found at a secluded villa in Guardamar. Contradictions in the alleged victim’s and her alleged kidnapper’s statements led police to suspect that the kidnapping had been simulated and they arrested the pair.
The couple’s young daughter had been removed from their care by the courts in the UK and was in the custody of her maternal grandparents in Manchester. The child’s father, the alleged kidnapper, is reported to have a history of violence.