Kidnapped crypto trader breaks ankles jumping from 30-foot balcony
A kidnapped crypto trader who was allegedly threatened with torture and death by a gang demanding €30,000 ($31,000) for his release, broke both ankles leaping from a 30-foot balcony in a desperate bid to escape, according to news reports.
The 34-year-old met his alleged captors in Marbella, Spain where they persuaded him to join them for drinks at an apartment in Estepona. The gang then allegedly kidnapped him and told him to pay a ransom using crypto from his clients’ accounts or face torture.
The victim pretended to comply and made a call, he claimed, to a client to get the codes he needed to access the crypto. However, he instead contacted a friend who subsequently led police to the apartment where he was being held.
Before police arrived, however, the alleged victim took matters into his own hands, attempting to escape via the apartment’s balcony while the kidnappers were distracted. Unfortunately, the escape didn’t go to plan and he fell, breaking both of his ankles.
Read more: Pakistan police officer remanded over USDT theft and kidnapping
Shortly after, armed police moved in and arrested the alleged kidnappers as they were attempting to flee.
A police search of the apartment found 25kg of pink cocaine, two guns, €10,000 ($10,300), three knives, including a butterfly knife, and two high-value watches.
It marks another kidnapping case this year involving a crypto trader. Last month, crypto wallet CEO David Balland was kidnapped, his finger was cut off, and a large crypto ransom was demanded.
More recently, a Pakistani Counter-Terrorism Department official was remanded over an alleged plot to steal $340,000 worth of tether (USDT) from a crypto trader using a police van and plain-clothed officers.
Got a tip? Send us an email or ProtonMail. For more informed news, follow us on X, Instagram, Bluesky, and Google News, or subscribe to our YouTube channel.