The Civil Guard in Asturias concluded a major operation against a criminal organization involved in kidnapping, illegal detention, injury, and illegal possession of weapons. Following the capture, several members were taken into custody in Mieres and Lena. Under the umbrella of Operation Somoza and Elevement, four individuals were arrested, and four residences were searched. A car used in the kidnappings and a firearm with two magazines were recovered as part of the evidence linked to the crimes under investigation.
The inquiry began in broad daylight in the early days of May. A group attempted to kidnap a Senegalese teenager at gunpoint, but their plan was interrupted by the timely intervention of two witnesses who were traveling from Valencia to Turón that same day, near La Plaza de la Madera in Turón.
The Forensic Police team from the Mieres Civil Guard took charge of the investigations under Operation Somoza. They conducted practical and analytical work that yielded crucial data and identified the exact vehicle used to transport the victim. Although the kidnapping attempt did not proceed to completion, it did not derail the investigation, and it did not reveal a direct link to a specific person in the broader plot.
Two days later, through established internal communications within the Civil Guard, investigators learned that a completed kidnapping had occurred. A neighbor from the Service Operations Center in Gijón, reporting from Riosuaria near Bimenes, alerted authorities to a seriously injured Malian man who asked for help and said he had been held captive for days. The Langreo Civil Guard Judicial Police unit, working under Operation Removal, traced the case to a kidnapping carried out by four gunmen two days earlier. The assailants demanded 50,000 euros from a relative of the victim for release and were not able to determine the site of the detention.
In light of these overlapping clues, investigators from the Oviedo and Gijón Civil Guard commands collaborated on a joint operation named Operation Somoza Elevement. The mission succeeded in locating the abducted person in Turón on the morning of May 7, the same day as the earlier detention attempt, providing a clear path for follow‑up actions.
Despite what appeared to be insufficient evidence to sustain further prosecutions due to limited input from the victims, the Civil Guard continued extended operational and analytical work. Months of careful investigation linked the criminal group to activities in Lena and Mieres. The research conducted by the team allowed the reconstruction of the group’s movements and even pinpointed the timing and route used in the rescue operation, which occurred in Riosuaria around 10:20 p.m. on May 9.
The investigative effort, led by the Armed Institute, culminated in a comprehensive reconstruction of the event sequence. This included not only how the crimes unfolded but also the meeting between the perpetrators and the victim that took place in Turón on the morning of May 7, revealing the precarious and unpredictable nature of the criminal plan.
Tactics Used in Organized Crime
The security measures employed by the perpetrators to evade identification affected the Civil Guard’s work and delayed progress. The same case illustrates how the vehicle used for the kidnapping was handled post‑crime through a sales company acting for a vendor, employing fake documents that left no clear trace of the user. This lack of visible provenance complicated the investigation.
Moreover, the vehicle involved was kept in a private garage after the victim was released, which hindered inspection efforts and reduced early detection chances for investigators.
Between October 31 and November 1, after months of probing, four individuals were arrested and two others were charged with kidnapping, illegal detention, injury, illegal possession of weapons, and organizing criminal activity. Four residences were searched, revealing narcotics and other items linked to the crimes. The car used in the kidnapping and a firearm with two 9mm magazines were recovered. The detainees appeared before the Mieres No. 1 Investigation Court on November 2, with provisional arrest warrants issued for three of them.