Five people have been arrested in Fuengirola on charges of kidnapping, drug trafficking and possession of firearms.
The events unfolded after police received an anonymous call from someone in Salobreña, Granada province, that a Spanish man had been kidnapped and was being held at a house in Fuengirola. Police acted on the tip-off and set up surveillance and it soon became apparent that something was indeed happening.
During the raid on the house, police seized firearms, drugs, cars used in the kidnapping and a large quantity of cash hidden behind a headboard in one of the bedrooms.
Five people were arrested, three Italians, a Moroccan and the Spanish national who had been kidnapped.
The story would appear to be that the Italians, operating in Granada province, had not received all the money from a drugs transaction and so decided to kidnap the Spanish man, also allegedly involved in the whole set-up, as leverage for obtaining the outstanding funds.
It was a friend of the kidnapped man who alerted the police, fearing that the life of his friend was in danger.