An alleged mercenary has been arrested in London over a plot to kidnap the boss of an Albanian crime gang in revenge for a multimillion-pound drug theft.

Latvian national Ainis Balodis, 45, was one of four men held in an international operation led by German police earlier this month.

The group, some of whom are former French Foreign Legion soldiers, are said by police to be highly trained and were equipped with professional equipment.

They were allegedly hired by an organised crime group to kidnap the leader of a rival drug trafficking gang.

Image: Another one of the men arrested as part of the probe. Pic: Europol

The target, an Albanian crime boss, is suspected of orchestrating the theft of tonnes of cannabis worth millions of euros.

Balodis, who flew into the UK on 31 October, i

See Full Page