The van of the express kidnapping thwarted by the Police in Madrid was rented in Alicante

A judge sends to prison the two Serbs arrested when they fled with a Canadian builder tied in the vehicle and headed for Elda.

File image of several motorized agents of the National Police of Alicante. / INFORMATION 20 MAR 2026 18:04

The investigation into the express kidnapping of a Canadian construction businessman  thwarted by the National Police last Monday in Madrid has revealed several indications that link the arrested Serbs with the province of Alicante. The three kidnappers had fixed in the GPS of a mobile phone a street in Elda to which they were heading when they were arrested with the builder tied up and the National Police has verified that the van used to force the businessman had been rented a few days earlier in the city of Alicante.

The third suspect who was able to flee after the police intervention is still missing, while the two Serbian citizens were brought to court this Thursday in Madrid and it was agreed that they would be remanded in custody. Both arrested were assisted by the lawyer of La Vila Joiosa Francisco Miguel Galiana Botella and the magistrate of Plaza 50 of the Instruction Section of the Court of Instance of Madrid agreed to unconditional imprisonment, communicated and without bail for the two investigated for crimes of illegal detention or kidnapping, robbery with violence, injuries, forgery of documents and membership of a criminal organization.

Although the information disseminated after the frustrated express kidnapping indicated that the objective of the kidnapping was to steal the victim’s cryptocurrencies after beating her to get the access codes, the proceedings instructed by the National Police make no reference to this and only record, as the victim acknowledged, that they tried to forcibly steal a Jacob & Co watch valued at 100,000 euros.

One of the two detainees arrived in Spain last January, specifically at Alicante-Elche airport, while the other involved did so through Belgium two days before the kidnapping.

The National Police found in the van used to carry out the kidnapping documentation in the name of another man of Serbian origin, so it is being investigated if it is the same person who fled when they were discovered near the Atocha ring road in Madrid.

The National Police analyzes the mobile phone seized in the van and although it identifies that the destination they had fixed in the GPS was a street in Petrer, this public road actually belongs to the municipality of Elda. It is unknown if the kidnappers were going to take the victim to a home in Elda or had other plans.

The Scientific Police has carried out a thorough inspection of the van rented in Alicante in order to collect evidence against those involved, including the escapee. In this vehicle, which was rented since last Saturday and had to be returned in Alicante on Tuesday – the day after the kidnapping – the police found plastic zip ties, firearms, cartridges, antennas with inhibitors and other effects that are going to be analyzed.

The kidnapping took place last Monday night on Claudio Coello Street in Madrid and was thwarted in a few minutes by the Police thanks to the data provided by witnesses who saw how they forced a person into a van.

The victim told the police that he left dinner at a restaurant around 10:30 p.m. and was walking to his hotel on Claudio Coello Street when he came across three men who sprayed his face with pepper spray. He tried to flee but was caught by the kidnappers, who began to punch and kick him all over his body. In the end they managed to take him to a van and inside they continued to beat him. One of them made a “mataleón” around his neck with an arm and another tried to put a pill in him that he ended up spitting out. The van started driving while they tied him up and tried to unfasten his 100,000 euro watch.