Five Dutch and one Brit arrested after man kidnapped and tortured on the Costa del Sol over three-million-euro drug debt

A man who was kidnapped and then mutilated, tortured and stabbed was left for dead on wasteland in Fuengirola over an alleged three-million-euro cocaine debt on Spain's Costa del Sol.

When the 24-year-old regained consciousness he walked to an urban area and asked local residents for help. According to sources close to the investigation, which started after the incident in May, the man was kidnapped because his associates held him responsible for the loss of a cocaine shipment that was supposed to have been transported from the Costa del Sol to the Netherlands.

They demanded he pay three million euros in cash to compensate for the value of the lost stash. The man refused to pay and denied any responsibility over the missing drugs. In a bizarre twist, the victim's associates then ordered the kidnappers to take him to the UK to submit him to a lie detector test, but the polygraph result was inconclusive.

The man was then transferred to a building in Fuengirola, according to investigators where he was tortured and humiliated. The kidnappers cut off the index finger of each of his hands and stabbed him multiple times in the feet. They then took him to a local wasteland and dumped him, still tied up. The kidnappers thought he was dead, according to police sources. However, the man regained consciousness, and was able to walk around a kilometre to call for help.

The drugs and organised crime unit (UDYCO-Costa del Sol) took over the investigation and have now identified and arrested six people - five Dutch and one British - for their alleged involvement in the crime.