FOUR members of a Swedish mafia gang called ‘Dalen’ have been arrested but subsequently released after holding a Norwegian man hostage for nearly three days in the Murcia region.
They demanded a ransom of 800,000 Norwegian Kroner- just over €69,000.
The victim- described as a ‘millionaire’- was located by Policia Nacional officers in San Pedro del Pinatar, Murcia.
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But in a strange twist, the victim told a court via a statement that he was not kidnapped and that three of the men who had been remanded into custody were ‘friends’ and that it had been a ‘misunderstanding’.
The trio were freed last week amidst reports in the Informacion newspaper that the victim had been ‘uncooperative’ with police due to a ‘fear of reprisals’.
The investigation started after a call was received on a 24-hour tip line belonging to the Policia Nacional’s Kidnapping and Extortion Unit via a Norwegian liaison officer in Spain.
They were alerted to the kidnapping of a Norwegian citizen in Alicante province.
The captors belonged to the ‘Dalen’ gang involved with international drugs and arms trafficking.
The Policia Nacional said they stole the victim’s dogs to demand a ransom but when he refused to pay, they decided to kidnap him.
The gang contacted a relative in Norway and a friend of the man based in El Campello.
The friend told police that one of the kidnappers had ‘committed murders in Sweden’.
Photos and videos were sent to them showing the victim being beaten up and threats made to kill him if the ransom was not paid.
The police found the hostage walking on his own in a San Pedro del Pinatar street on December 12.
He was taken to a medical centre where he was examined and treated for face and chest injuries.
Three of the alleged perpetrators were found and arrested in a San Pedro shopping centre car park.
One of them was carrying identification documents belonging to the victim.
A fourth man was arrested in Torrevieja.
The detainees were brought before an Alicante judge in December who ordered three of them to be imprisoned, before last week’s dramatic turn via the victim’s statement.
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