Spanish police have revealed that the eight men suspected of gang-raping an 18-year-old British woman in Magaluf, Majorca, were not all acquainted with each other. The revelation comes after five French and one Swiss tourist were arrested earlier this month, followed by two more men in France this week.
A spokesman for the Spanish civil guard stated: 'Of the eight [suspects], some knew each other, they weren't all strangers. But it was not one group of friends.' The alleged attack occurred in the early hours of 14 August, when the victim is thought to have met a group of young tourists and followed them to their hotel.
Once at the hotel, she was allegedly forced to have sexual intercourse and was filmed by the suspects. The woman later escaped and was found in the street, where hotel staff assisted her. She was taken to Son Espases hospital in Palma de Mallorca for treatment before filing a rape complaint.
The first six suspects were arrested within hours of the alleged attack and remain in preventive custody. The two men arrested this week had flown from Spain to Germany before travelling to France. A Spanish judge issued a European detention order, leading to their arrests in Scherwiller and at Basel-Mulhouse-Freiburg airport in northeastern France.
With the two latest arrests, the civil guard has closed its investigation, stating that 'the swift and efficient action of this team' in cooperation with local police 'has permitted the arrest of all those responsible for this brutal attack.' The two suspects in France are awaiting extradition to Spain.
