Spanish police have arrested two men over the rape of a “young” British tourist who was attacked after she got into their car at a taxi rank when they offered to take her back to her hotel for £13.
Detectives revealed the holidaymaker was sexually attacked after agreeing to pay two men who offered to ferry her to her hotel as she waited for a taxi in the Costa Blanca resort of Benidorm.
Officers said the woman got into the vehicle after leaving “a nightspot which had been about to close in a popular going-out area”.
She was allegedly raped at the home of one of the suspects after falling asleep in the back of the vehicle on August 25.
Police have arrested two men, both Algerian nationals aged 39 and 44, who have been remanded in custody pending an ongoing investigation. One was also being hunted over a violent robbery two days before the sex attack in Villajoyosa next to Benidorm.
The age of the British woman has not been revealed but well-placed sources described her as “young”. She is said to have handed over 15 Euros, around £13, for the fare.
A spokesman for the Civil Guard said: “[We] arrested two men over the rape of a foreign tourist in August inside a property in that locality.
“The incident occurred in the early hours of August 25. The holidaymaker was waiting for a taxi in Benidorm to take her back to her hotel after going out partying and the suspects offered to take her in return for money.
“She had just left a nightspot which had been about to close in a popular going-out area frequented by tourists in Benidorm.
“After agreeing to travel with them and paying the cash, she fell asleep which is when both suspects allegedly took advantage of the situation to take her to one of their homes and sexually attack her.”
Detectives said the woman alerted police when she was found on the street, after waking up and “escaping” the property where the alleged sex attack occurred.
The arrests took place last month but police only went public after the two men were remanded in prison by an investigating judge.
The police spokesman said: “Investigators analysed security cameras close to the area where the holidaymaker was picked up which led to the identification of the mens’ vehicle and the place where the alleged sex attack occurred.
“They also managed to identify the suspects, two men aged 39 and 44.
“One of them was being hunted by police over a violent robbery two days before the rape.”
Police have not released footage of the arrests but have published images relating to the investigation including what appears to be DNA sampling.
Detectives are understood to have reviewed the movements of around 30,000 vehicles to identify the car that picked up the British tourist.
The court hearing that resulted in them being sent to a nearby jail pending ongoing inquiries took place in private, as is normal in Spain where only trials are held in public.
