Fernando Moreno was victim of ‘express kidnapping’ abandoned white van with British number plates found

Fernando Moreno ran a family construction business, founded some 40 years ago. He was last seen at 10am on Wednesday morning and family members reported him missing that same morning, reportedly fearing that he may have been kidnapped. They then received a phone call from a person with a Latin American accent who demanded two million € for the businessman, and throughout the day there were more calls in which the amount demanded was reduced. The final call at 1600 on Wednesday demanded 600,000 €. The phone then went silent until 2200 when the kidnappers said they had released the businessman ‘close to the Ojén reservoir’.
Police say they think he was victim of a so called ‘express kidnapping’ and were also investigating an abandoned white van with British number plates found in the area of the body, and thought to have been used by the kidnappers.76 year old Marbella businessman who died during an express kidnapping attempt last week, Fernando Moreno, did not meet his death through natural causes. His body was found, in a chair hands tied above his head, with feet and neck also tied and mouth taped up, and with his head covered up, on Thursday inside an abandoned building between Marbella and Ojen with no outward signs of violence. However the autopsy carried out on Friday indicates that he suffocated to death through swallowing a piece of the cloth which had been placed in his mouth. Sources indicate that the autopsy was a full one and lasted for seven hours, and that several samples taken could help to resolve the case.The investigators consider that he was probably still alive when his kidnappers left the scene after negotiating his release and the payment of a ransom with him and his family. Police say no money was paid, and they are interested in the statement from one of Fernando Moreno’s workers who saw an old white right-hand drive van, with British number plates in the area. The van has now been located in Marbella and forensic scientists have been combing it for prints and DNA.Government Sub-Delegate in Málaga, Hilario López Luna, has confirmed that the businessman was kidnapped. Reports say that the kidnappers were of Latin American origin. Initially in phone calls to the family they demanded two million €, a sum which later was reduced to 600,000 €. Reporting restrictions have now been imposed in the case.