Police rescue kidnapped drug trafficker wanted in Spain

OFFICERS from the National Police, working in conjunction with colleagues in France, have freed a Venezuelan drug trafficker who was kidnapped in Paris.

The operation began in Spain as part of an investigation that looks into criminal groups who are dedicated to kidnapping and extortion.

The investigation discovered that the victim was being held in a residence located in the 13th district of the French capital and, after notifying the French National Police, was released and one of his captors arrested.

It was only when the victim’s identity was fully clarified that the investigators discovered the man was wanted on an arrest warrant in Spain under suspicion of being a drug trafficker, after being arrested in 2005 in possession of 13 kg of cocaine.

The victim’s relief and release was subsequently short lived, as he was then arrested in France in order to be returned to Spain to face the charges against him.