An American citizen on the run was arrested in Guargacho (Tenerife), as part of a joint police operation (Operación Nkorina) with the FBI.

The 53-year-old man, S.N.K.N., had allegedly kidnapped a man in Florida and tortured him to get him to hand over 50,000 dollars. He reportedly used a electrical-discharge device to subdue him and throw him into the boot of his car.

The victim later found himself in a room, bound hands and feet to a chair. Apart from the beatings the kidnapper also used a blow torch on him, according to the police.

The victim finally gave the man the code for his burglar alarm and told him where he had 50,000 dollars hidden.

After several weeks of police investigation in Spain, the suspect was tracked down to Guargacho where he had rented a house together with his wife.

Fugitives tend to hide out in populated areas, especially where there is a large foreign-tourist population. During 2018 Spanish police forces tracked down and handed over 915 individuals with an international arrest warrant out on them.

(News, Tenerife, Canary Islands)