A Spanish electro pop act has been released after a being kidnapped by the notorious Los Zetas cartel in Mexico.
Delorean, a Barcelona-based four-piece, were held hostage in a Mexico City hotel for 30 hours by the drug lords, who demanded nearly a quarter of a million pounds for their lives.
Fortunately, local police were able to track the Zetas, famous for gruesome torture methods and mass murders, and the band members have been able to return to Spain.
Delorean had returned to their Mexico city hotel following a performance at a festival when they were lured into a hostage situation through a fake phone call from the Zetas cartel.
They were told they had to vacate the premises due to a shootout, but they were taken by cartel members as soon as they complied.
Ekhi Lopetegi, Guillermo Astrain, Unai Lazcano, and Igor Escudeo, originally from the Basque country, were taken to a different hotel and locked in two separate rooms, El Pais reports.
The Zetas then contacted their family member s demanding a ransom of five million Mexican peso – approximately £240,000 – for their safe return.
Thanks to various police forces including Interpol, the source of the phone calls made to the band’s hotel could be tracked and after 30 hours in captivity the four men could be released.
On Wednesday the band posted their version of the events on their official Facebook page :
‘On Monday morning October 7th we received a phone call at our hotel room in Mexico City from a person posing as a hotel security officer. We were informed that there was a security threat at the hotel.
‘What followed for the next 30 hours was an experience where the threat of death was real due to the psychological manipulation inflicted on us by our kidnappers.
'Thanks to the fantastic work of the National Police in Spain, Ertzantza, Interpol and the Federal Police in Mexico, we were successfully rescued yesterday morning.
‘While it would be convenient to blame Mexico, that would not be sound. This could have occurred anywhere in the world.
'Our hope is that this situation will bring attention to the abuse that we were subjected to by our kidnappers, so that other travelers do not fall victim in the future.
'This has been extremely difficult for us and our families.
'At this time we have no further comment and we ask that you respect our privacy so that we can return to normality in our lives.’
With their 2010 debut album hailed by reviewers on New York Times and Pitchfork, the band had been preparing a world tour to promote their new album Apar, when they were kidnapped.
The band's last tweet on Wednesday linked to a statement from their record label True Panther Sounds asking for privacy.
Delorean, a Barcelona-based four-piece, were held hostage in a Mexico City hotel for 30 hours by the drug lords, who demanded nearly a quarter of a million pounds for their lives.
Fortunately, local police were able to track the Zetas, famous for gruesome torture methods and mass murders, and the band members have been able to return to Spain.
Delorean had returned to their Mexico city hotel following a performance at a festival when they were lured into a hostage situation through a fake phone call from the Zetas cartel.
They were told they had to vacate the premises due to a shootout, but they were taken by cartel members as soon as they complied.
Ekhi Lopetegi, Guillermo Astrain, Unai Lazcano, and Igor Escudeo, originally from the Basque country, were taken to a different hotel and locked in two separate rooms, El Pais reports.
The Zetas then contacted their family member s demanding a ransom of five million Mexican peso – approximately £240,000 – for their safe return.
Thanks to various police forces including Interpol, the source of the phone calls made to the band’s hotel could be tracked and after 30 hours in captivity the four men could be released.
On Wednesday the band posted their version of the events on their official Facebook page :
‘On Monday morning October 7th we received a phone call at our hotel room in Mexico City from a person posing as a hotel security officer. We were informed that there was a security threat at the hotel.
‘What followed for the next 30 hours was an experience where the threat of death was real due to the psychological manipulation inflicted on us by our kidnappers.
'Thanks to the fantastic work of the National Police in Spain, Ertzantza, Interpol and the Federal Police in Mexico, we were successfully rescued yesterday morning.
‘While it would be convenient to blame Mexico, that would not be sound. This could have occurred anywhere in the world.
'Our hope is that this situation will bring attention to the abuse that we were subjected to by our kidnappers, so that other travelers do not fall victim in the future.
'This has been extremely difficult for us and our families.
'At this time we have no further comment and we ask that you respect our privacy so that we can return to normality in our lives.’
With their 2010 debut album hailed by reviewers on New York Times and Pitchfork, the band had been preparing a world tour to promote their new album Apar, when they were kidnapped.
The band's last tweet on Wednesday linked to a statement from their record label True Panther Sounds asking for privacy.
Source : DailyMail
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