A Swedish man who has been kidnapped for 23 days has been released in Spain.
A man from Syria and one from Lebanon have been arrested and Spanish police are looking for additional people involved, the Spanish police write on their website.
It was over three weeks ago that a Swedish man flew from Turkey to Spain.
When he landed at Malaga airport, he was taken away, and it took several days before his family realized he was missing and reported the incident to the police.
Spanish police state that the man was moved between different apartments every five days. He is also said to have been handcuffed and had a tracking transmitter on his foot.
500,000 euros in ransom
The man’s kidnappers are said to have used false identity documents to rent vehicles and apartments. They have also demanded 500,000 euros from the man’s family in crypto.
Last week, a relative of the man flew to Spain to pay the ransom. In consultation with the police, the man agreed to meet the men at a restaurant.
Looking for more suspects
Police were monitoring the area and could see one of the perpetrators searching the area for officers. After a while another man appeared with the kidnapped Swede and the police stormed in.
In a video published by the Spanish police, two men are seen pushed to the floor by plainclothes officers.
After a medical check, the man was able to tell the police where he was being held prisoner. In one of the apartments, in Fuengirola outside Malaga, the police have found mobile phones which they hope will lead to more arrests. The police also found the tracker and the handcuffs.
TV4 News is looking for the Swedish police.