Two British tourists in Benidorm have been arrested on suspicion of staging a fake kidnapping to extort £725 from their relative. The money was intended to fund a long holiday at the popular Costa Blanca resort. The men, aged 37 and 51, are accused of fabricating a crime that triggered a large-scale police operation involving specialized units from Madrid. According to reports, the men sent a doctored video to a relative in the UK showing one of them, covered in blood and looking terrified, being threatened with a knife by the other, who was playing the role of the kidnapper. While taking their fingerprints at a nearby police station, officers discovered that the supposed kidnapper had used a false name when checking into the hotel and during his arrest, leading to additional charges of identity fraud. A spokesperson for the National Police in Alicante confirmed: 'Officers in Benidorm arrested two British men, aged 37 and 51, on suspicion of staging a kidnapping to raise money quickly.' The men will now have to extend their stay in Spain, facing the possibility of prison time, as well as large compensation claims for wasting police resources and disrupting operations at the resort. Police officers contacted the victim's relative, obtained photos and details, and identified a hotel the supposed kidnapper had checked into a few days earlier with another British man. As preparations were made for a possible hotel raid, surveillance officers spotted the two men leaving the building together. This was followed by audio recordings of ransom demands, warning that 'the hostage will be killed unless £725 ($975) is transferred to a specified bank account.' Panicked family members alerted British authorities, who in turn passed the report to Interpol. Euro Weekly reported that all available local police resources were mobilized, and a specialized anti-kidnapping and extortion unit from Madrid was deployed. The men were talking calmly and appeared extremely relaxed. Police intercepted them and quickly determined that the 'kidnapping' had been staged to extort money. They were arrested on suspicion of fraud and fabricating a crime.