Lorraine Williamson
A naked and bloodied man fleeing a house in Estepona led police to an alleged torture room where a second injured man was found. Seven people were arrested following the dramatic intervention at the Costa del Sol property, where officers also discovered firearms and equipment investigators believe may have been used to torture the victims.
The operation took place in the early hours of 5 September, although the extraordinary details of what officers encountered inside the property have only emerged publicly in recent days. Investigators are now examining the activities of a wider criminal organisation suspected of involvement in drug trafficking, extortion and other violent crime.
A phone call that may have saved two lives
The police intervention began after the partner of one of the men became concerned when she stopped hearing from him. According to reporting based on the investigation, he had told her he was going to a meeting at a house and instructed her to contact police if she did not hear from him shortly afterwards. When contact was lost, she called 091 and officers were dispatched to the Estepona property.
As police approached the house, a naked man with blood on his face suddenly ran outside in a state of panic. He told officers that he had been kidnapped and that his captors intended to kill him, prompting police to call for reinforcements as several suspects allegedly attempted to escape from the property and surrounding area.
Second injured man found inside the house
Once inside, officers discovered another injured man who also said he had been kidnapped. They then found the room that has become central to the investigation, with plastic covering the walls and floor and items including a chair, restraints, a hammer and pliers inside.
Investigators believe the plastic may have been intended to make it easier to remove blood and other biological traces after violence had taken place. Several firearms were also recovered during the operation, including pistols and AK-47-type assault rifles.
The discovery transformed what had begun as an emergency response to a suspected kidnapping into a much wider organised-crime investigation. Forensic specialists are now examining evidence recovered from the property as police attempt to establish whether other people may previously have been held or attacked there.
Seven suspects arrested after attempted escapes
The police operation quickly spread beyond the house as suspects allegedly attempted to flee over walls and through neighbouring gardens. Seven people were eventually arrested, while three police officers were reportedly injured as they climbed walls and fences during the pursuit.
The investigation has since widened beyond what happened inside the Estepona property. Police are examining possible connections with drug trafficking, extortion and other violent crime, while more recent investigative reporting suggests the organisation may have operated across the Costa del Sol, Campo de Gibraltar and parts of eastern Spain.
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Firearms could provide clues to other violent crimes
The weapons recovered in Estepona have reportedly been sent for forensic examination to establish whether they may have been used in previous crimes. Investigators are examining possible connections with violent incidents elsewhere on the Costa del Sol, including Marbella, although there is currently no confirmation that any of the firearms have been matched to another shooting.
Biological evidence recovered from the property is also being analysed. Together with the ballistics work, those results could help investigators establish whether the house had been used before and whether other people were connected to the alleged criminal organisation.
Police are meanwhile working on the hypothesis that the two men rescued from the property may have been attacked as part of an internal settling of scores linked to organised crime. Both survived, although Spanish reporting says one of the rescued men was subsequently remanded in custody in connection with the wider investigation.
The seven people arrested during the raid were also remanded in custody while inquiries continue. What began with one woman’s decision to call the police has therefore developed into an investigation extending far beyond a single Estepona property, with detectives now trying to establish whether the weapons, forensic evidence and suspected criminal network can be linked to other violent crimes in southern Spain.