A man was chased, knocked to the ground and forced into a car during a suspected kidnapping in Marbella, it has emerged.

The alleged incident happened on Friday evening in Nueva Andalucia, near the Torres de Aloha urbanisation.

According to police sources cited by El Español, a Mercedes CLA with German number plates stopped in the road before a group of men struggled to force the victim through its rear passenger door.

At least three people are believed to have participated in the alleged abduction.

The suspects reportedly acted without covering their faces, leading sources to suggest that the plan may have been improvised.

Investigators are examining whether the group pursued the man before cornering him, knocking him down and bundling him into the vehicle.

The Mercedes was displaying a German registration number which sources claim had already been deregistered in Germany.

Police suspect the plate had been cloned or falsified to make the vehicle more difficult for Spanish authorities to trace.

The Policia Nacional have confirmed that an investigation has been opened into suspected unlawful detention.

The victim was later released at a petrol station elsewhere in Marbella and was reportedly found in good health.

Specialist organised crime officers from the UDYCO unit have taken over the investigation. No arrests have yet been made.

The circumstances are being examined amid concern over so-called ‘express kidnappings’ on the Costa del Sol.

Unlike conventional kidnappings, victims are generally held for a relatively short time while their captors demand money, settle a debt or attempt to obtain information.

In February 2025, police rescued a man who had been held for seven hours inside a property in San Pedro de Alcantara.

Officers watching the home saw the victim lower himself from a balcony and fall to the ground. He was subsequently taken to hospital.