The broker reportedly accepted a social invitation for drinks at the kidnapper’s apartment in the nearby town of Estepona. Upon arrival, he was ambushed and threatened with torture and death unless he transferred $30,917 (30,000 euros) from his clients’ accounts.

With quick thinking, the broker feigned a call to a customer, instead reaching out to a friend in London. This led to a series of calls, eventually alerting the local police. The authorities were successful in tracing the location of the apartment.

As reported by Metro UK, the broker seized the opportunity to escape when the kidnappers were distracted by the police. He jumped from the balcony, breaking his ankles in the process.

Spanish authorities stated on Feb 8, that upon their arrival, they observed the victim attempting to climb down the balcony, eventually falling. He was immediately rushed for medical treatment. A subsequent search of the apartment led to the discovery of two firearms, 10,000 euros ($10,305), a money counter, three knives, and 25 grams of pink cocaine.

The three British kidnappers were arrested and charged with a plethora of crimes, including kidnapping, grievous bodily harm, being part of a criminal organization, illegal possession of weapons, and drug trafficking. They were remanded to prison post their court appearance.

There has been a surge in in-person cryptocurrency robberies in recent years. Casa co-founder and cypherpunk, Jameson Lopp, maintains a list on GitHub tracking dozens of offline crypto robberies worldwide, dating back to 2014. So far this year, there have been nine incidents of in-person crypto-related robbery, according to Lopp’s list.

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