Beyond the dazzling seafront of Puerto Banus , with its yachts, posh shops and supercars, lurks a darker side that is now the focus of a
police crackdown. The millionaires’ playground near Marbella on
Spain ’s Costa del Sol pulls in 120,000
British tourists each summer. Revelling in the glamour, they splash out an average £108 per day. But in recent years ruthless gangs with links to Albania , Morocco and Colombia have moved in, battling it out for a slice of the multi-million pound drugs trade that dominates the area. Just weeks ago terrified tourists fled for their lives at the resort as a gangster opened
fire into a restaurant with an Uzi submachine gun during daylight hours. Footage showed the man calmly walking away from the scene near the Cristamar shopping centre, which is often full of British and
Irish tourists. Incredibly, no one was injured – but the
Gunman has yet to be caught. Now security has been increased in the port and businesses are being closely monitored in a show of force called the Strategic Police Response Plan. It is intended to combat drug use and street-level trafficking. More than 100 armed police have so far arrested 12 top drug dealers. Officers have also clamped down on street drinking and monitored venues. Terrifying moment tourists flee as man fires sub-machine gun on packed Spanish restaurant Police are clamping down in Puerto Banus ( Image: Andy Commins / Daily Mirror) A bar owner, who did not want to be named, told the Mirror: “They’re really letting their presence be known. We’ve got more visible private security in the port, security cameras and stuff.” But has the crackdown made a real difference to the resort? The bar owner said: “It does nothing to handle the cause of the crime. Everyone knows who runs who things around here. And it’s not the police.” When the Mirror visited Puerto Banus we found the increased police presence had done little to change crooks’ behaviour. Brazen drug dealers continued operating, with apparent impunity as innocent families and other holidaymakers wandered by. Our reporters were offered drugs five times in one hour – from cannabis and ecstasy to cocaine at £60 a gram. The dealers boasted any other drugs could be sourced at a moment’s notice. The province of Malaga, with Puerto Banus and Marbella as its hub, is now the European HQ for 113 organised crime groups of 59 nationalities, according to the Spanish Intelligence Centre for Counter Terrorism. Gunman opens fire in recent spree ( Image: Daily Mirror) Peter Bleksley ( Image: Andrew Teebay/Liverpool Echo) As many as 14 of these gangs are believed to be British, with others from countries including Holland, Albania, Kosovo, Morocco and Colombia. A gang war in 2020 led to 20 murders in the Marbella area, followed by a dozen more deaths the year after. Last summer an Irish man was left in a critical condition in hospital after being shot in a nightclub in Marbella. Former
Scotland Yard detective and undercover officer Peter Bleksley told the Mirror the crackdown is little more than window dressing. He said: “I think it’s more for public reassurance than it is for frightening the crooks. The message is, ‘Please keep spending your money, keep having a good time’. “The place is organised crime from all over the world, everyone has a foothold, toehold or quite a firm grip. You’ve only got to sit in a bar and listen to the accents – it’s a cosmopolitan melting pot of criminality.” He said the same murky world was responsible for the
UK killings of nine-year-old Olivia Pratt-Korbel at her home in Dovecot,
Liverpool, in August last year and beautician Elle Edwards, 26, in Wallasey, Merseyside, last
Christmas Eve. Glitzy Puerto Banus has a dark side ( Image: Andy Commins / Daily Mirror) Peter added: “When you see tragedies like Elle Edwards or Olivia Pratt-Korbel, where both killers were linked to the drugs industry, you can trace the DNA of the crimes straight through to Spain.” He questioned whether Spanish police had the resources to tackle the gangs that are drawn to the area. He said: “When it was the Costa del Crime in the 1970s and there was no extradition treaty between Spain and the UK, then of course armed robbers used to flood down there. It’s very different now in terms of European Arrest Warrants, the National Crime Agency and their global reach. But they still flock down there, they love it, they still get kudos from being a face there. “So when you see the police at chucking out time it’s because they’re more than happy to help make sure people get home safe – it’s much easier than tackling the pernicious reality of the considerable organised crime all around them. I would ask, are the Spanish police struggling, or are they actually trying?” However, the resort continues to be popular with celebrities such as
basketball legend Michael Jordan, who was snapped there recently, as well as ordinary holidaymakers. Peter said: “I wouldn’t want to deter anyone from going there. If you’re not attuned to the activities of criminals, then go and enjoy your holiday. But I can’t go to that kind of environment without being red alert to all the criminality that is going on.” Friday Favourites: what we're buying from River Island, Marks & Spencer and Boots this weekend