Spanish police arrested five people and charged four others in Denmark on Thursday for the kidnapping and murder of a man targeted for his cryptocurrency.
The police operation dismantled what authorities described as a criminal group that operated across borders to steal cryptocurrency.
The investigation began in April when a woman arrived at a Malaga police station to report that she and her partner had been kidnapped in the nearby town of Mijas. According to police, the couple was ambushed by three or four masked men, dressed in black and armed with guns.
The man was shot in the leg while trying to escape, and then both were forced into a vehicle and taken to a house where they were held for several hours.
The attackers attempted to gain access to the couple’s crypto wallets during the ordeal. The woman was freed around midnight, but her partner’s deceased body was later found in a wooded area. He showed signs of violence in addition to the gunshot wound, according to police.
The authorities carried out six raids on homes in Madrid and Malaga, seizing two pistols (one real and one fake), a baton, blood-stained clothing, mobile devices and documents.
Biological evidence linked to the site was also recovered. Danish police, working with their Spanish counterparts, charged four people in connection with the case. Two are already in prison for similar crimes.
The case points to a growing trend: physical attacks aimed at extracting access to crypto wallets. These attacks have been influential in the crypto space this year and have led to campaigns against what are known as wrench attacks.
