SPANISH police have released a fresh update on missing Brit Oliver Pugh after he was reportedly abducted and taken to Russia.
Ministry of Interior officials mysteriously deactivated an alert for the three-year-old tot but cops have insisted the operation to find him is ongoing.
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Oliver has been the subject of a frantic police search since he went missing in Marbella on July 4.
He has a British father and a Russian mother, who are now separated.
The family lived in Spain, where a court order had barred the child from being removed from the country.
But he mysteriously disappeared in July with details emerging late last week that cops fear Oliver was taken to Russia.
Police then confirmed they believe the boy’s Russian mum, abducted him and took him to her homeland.
A public appeal to find the toddler was quickly published on Spain’s National Missing Persons Centre (CNDES) website.
The listing is now officially deactivated online – sparking concerns over what has happened to Oliver.
Online sleuths trying to access the alert were met with a message in Spanish which said: “This alert has been deactivated or the URL is incorrect.”
Spain’s Ministry of Interior has yet to respond to requests for more information.
A spokesman for Spain’s National Police in Malaga said this morning: “The investigation is ongoing. There are no updates we can give you.”
Oliver is described as being 2ft 7in tall, with blond hair and distinctive grey eyes.
Moscow spoke on the case for the first time on Saturday.
State media propagandist Vladimir Kornilov said on Telegram: “It is suspected that she took her son to Russia the Brit is actually “Russian”.
He also demanded the Kremlin “protect the mother’s right” to be with her child.
Russian authorities have not officially commented on whether the child is in the country.
But if it transpires that Oliver is in Russia, then it leaves British and Spanish authorities in a tricky position to return him to his dad.
A judge would have to officially declare the mother a fugitive and request an extradition – something Russia almost always refuses to do for its own citizens.
Russian extradition to the West
RUSSIAN extradition laws prohibit the extradition of Russian citizens, as mandated by Article 61 of the Constitution.
This creates significant barriers for Western countries seeking extradition.
Extradition is only possible through international agreements or federal laws, but Russia does not extradite individuals for political crimes or non-criminal acts under its law.
Treaties like the European Convention on Extradition are limited by constitutional restrictions.
Russia and Western countries often lack extradition treaties, such as with the US and the UK.
Concerns over human rights and fair trials further complicate extradition efforts.
Western nations frequently reject Russian extradition requests, citing political motives and poor detention conditions.
This has led to strained relations and reduced cooperation in legal matters.
Extradition remains largely one-sided, with Russia rarely extraditing individuals to the West.
Meanwhile, Western countries are increasingly resistant to extraditing individuals to Russia.
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