THE Guardia Civil have launched a nationwide appeal to find the mastermind behind an Alicante kidnapping plot last Summer to prise out lucrative cryptocurrency access codes.
Carlos Garrido Delgado, 40, organised the snatch of a Russian couple in June from the San Juan beach area of Alicante with the help of gang members pretending to be police officers.
Garrido Delgado has a registered Sevilla address but the Guardia believe he could be hiding out in Portugal.
A European Arrest Warrant has been issued against him but the trail appears to have gone cold.
As previously reported by the Olive Press, the June kidnapping revolved around a Russian computer expert specialising in cryptocurrency management who held the ‘keys’ to a lucrative crypto wallet.
One of the gang members was a Russian woman who acted as an interpreter and threatened violent consequences if the codes were not handed over.
The plan backfired when the couple were rescued at an El Campello house after the cyber expert phoned his lawyer, who in turned called the police.
Six people- the Russian interpreter and five Spaniards- were arrested in the Alicante, Huelva, and Madrid areas and remain in custody.
It’s not been disclosed how much money was at stake but the sum was described as ‘large’.
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