Kidnappers release a man in Torremolinos when they realise they had the wrong person

It may sound like the script of an action movie but it isn't. The reality, which often far surpasses fiction, is that a man has been the victim of a kidnapping in Torremolinos, although fortunately for him the captors realised they had the wrong target and released him shortly after.

Around 12 noon on Tuesday, 24 January, the middle-aged man, of Maghrebi origin, was walking in the Pinillo area when a car stopped next to him. Suddenly, two individuals got out, kicked him, grabbed him and forced him inside the vehicle, according to sources.

It happened in broad daylight and in the middle of the street, so there were witnesses to the kidnapping. One of them called the National Police, which alerted all the units with a description of what had happened and the car's registration which the witness had made note of.

There was barely time to start searching for the kidnapped man because it was all over in a few minutes. The man was released shortly afterwards at a petrol station located next to the Fuengirola side of the motorway. He was not seriously injured.

The case, which has all the signs of a failed settling of scores, has been passed to UDYCO, the Unit Against Drugs and Organised Crime on the Costa del Sol, which has already started to try and identify the kidnappers.

The latest report published by the Ministerio del Interio for the third quarter of 2021, shows a significant oncrease in kidnappings, although the figures are compared with the same period in 2020, the first year of the pandemic and mobility restrictions.

The statistics reflect an increase in all violent crimes in the province of Malaga. Kidnappings grew by 75 per cent, from four to seven; murders doubled from 6 to 13 in 2021; and attempted murders also rose by 9.4 per cent.