ARCHIVED - Woman kidnapped over stolen drugs as 11 arrested in Elche
Young woman abducted after drug deal "goes bad" in the Baix Vinalopo comarca, Alicante province.
The National Police have arrested 11 people in Elche after a woman was kidnapped following a "failed marijuana deal".
An investigation was launched after the woman's partner told police his girlfriend has been abducted and her kidnappers were demanding "a large sum of money to free her".
However, it soon became clear that the couple had acted as "intermediaries" between two gangs "in the business of buying and selling narcotics".
According to the police, the victim and her partner had accompanied the "buyers" of a large quantity of marijuana to a property where the transaction was to take place.
But once there, the gang who had planned to buy the drugs instead "violently" stole them, assaulting the dealers before running off without paying.
The aggrieved gang allegedly accused the young woman of colluding with the assailants and kidnapped her, warning her partner he had to pay "for her freedom".
Working with the woman's boyfriend, officers were able to determine the exact location of the hostage and set up discreet surveillance around the property, "following the protocol for critical situations with people being held hostage".
The victim was eventually released unhurt and her five captors surrendered at the scene, where 1.5 kilos of marijuana that the assailants had not stolen and a backpack belonging to one of them were seized.
After making a statement at the police station, the victim and his partner were also arrested and charged with drug trafficking.
The investigation continued until the three alleged assailants were identified and detained in the Vega Baja towns Almoradi, Daya Nueva, and Daya Vieja where they had been hiding out. One of the suspects has a criminal record for "extremely violent" crimes.
The 11 Spanish, Romanian, German and Irish detainees, aged between 29 and 39-years-old, will appear at the Court of Instruction in Elche this week.
IMAGE: Policia Nacional