Operation involving plainclothes officers causes alarm near Larios shopping centre after it was mistaken for a kidnapping

The reality was quite different: plainclothes officers had arrested a man for his alleged involvement in an asset-related offence, according to police sources speaking to SUR.

The chaos was triggered by the very nature of the operation. Apparently, one of the police officers drew his service weapon - though he did not fire it - a sight which, combined with the fact that the officers were dressed in plain clothes and travelling in a vehicle without police markings, led passers-by to believe they were witnessing a kidnapping at gunpoint.

The 091 emergency call centre began receiving calls from members of the public reporting an armed man and that someone was trying to force a man into a car near the entrance to the shopping centre. As the sources consulted have clarified, there was at no point a real risk of kidnapping.

At present, no further details have emerged regarding the arrest or the scope of the operation, as the police action forms part of an investigation that remains open.