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Date Published: 09/07/2021
ARCHIVED - Police investigate kidnapping linked to drug crimes in Murcia
Police in the Region of Murcia are investigating a kidnapping in Torre Pacheco potentially linked to a feud between rival drug gangs.
A car theft in Sangonera and kidnapping in Torre Pacheco are being investigated by the Judicial Police of the Benemérita as potential crimes related to rival drug gangs in the area.
The reason police believe that the kidnapping is linked to a potential ‘drug war’ between rival cartels is because of the reluctance of the man who was kidnapped to provide details of what happened to him - he was found unharmed and in ‘perfect health’ in a field hours later.
The event happened on Wednesday, July 7 when the man was allegedly kidnapped after being bundled into a car in Torre Pacheco. However, when questioned by police, he did not want to give any information and officers from the Judicial Police are apparently treating that as suspicious.
The car he was put into was tracked down thanks to witnesses noting down the number plate and it was discovered that it had been stolen hours earlier from the Murcian town of Sangonera.
According to sources, an Audi A6 was stolen from a home in Sangonera at around 5 am when half a dozen people, armed with pistols, broke in and threatened the residents; hand over the keys to the car or be killed was the choice given.
The victims explained to the Benemérita officers that they were unable to identify the thieves but that they spoke with foreign accents.
The nature of the crime has led investigators to believe that this was the result of a 'vuelcos', which is when drug gangs steal from rival drug gangs - events that are normally not reported to police and involve a great deal of violence.
Whether this was a case of a 'vuelcos' or an actual kidnapping in which the man was threatened not to talk to police, it should be noted that drug crimes have continued to rise in Spain in recent years and sadly, the Region of Murcia is experiencing greater numbers of drug-related incidents than ever before.
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