Police arrest footballer's cousin-in-law over his kidnapping

29-year-old Osvaldo Velazquez Garcia is suspected of ordering the player's kidnapping last weekend.

Pulido's car was seized by four armed men when he was on his way home from a party in his hometown of Ciudad Victoria.

SkyNews reports that he was held at gunpoint for almost 24 hours, but escaped when he managed to overpower the lone kidnapper he was left with.

Pulido grabbed a phone and called police, who turned up within minutes.

Garcia was wounded and detained during the ensuing police shootout, according to state prosecutor Ismael Quintanilla.

“Garcia was hit in the shoulder and wounded in the neck, but is not seriously injured,”he said.

According to SkyNews, a 38-year-old accomplice said Garcia masterminded the kidnapping, demanding €292,082 in ransom.

Garcia was reportedly present at the party the Olympiakos striker was attending before he was kidnapped on Saturday. The prosecutor said the suspect called the other kidnappers to tell them when the player had left the event, and told him what type of car he was driving.