Mafia Gang Wars, Drugs And Murder Threaten Expat Life In Spain

British expats living in Spain’s Costa del Sol region are being warned over violence and assassinations now taking place in what appears to be a drugs-based mafia-style gang war.

Over the past several months, Spanish police have been investigating at least two murders, with a third taking place just two weeks ago. The first body, that of a 39 year-old man, was found in a ditch on September 18, with the corpse showing signs of violence. Police originally labelled the death as suicide, but changed their minds when the proof of violence was discovered. Two weeks ago, the corpse of a male Bulgarian with gunshot wounds to the shoulder and stomach was found dumped on a local road, and earlier this week an Arab man was shot dead in an upmarket Marbella housing estate.

By now, expats living between Marbella and Mijas have realised their chosen emigration destination is now the prime focus of a gang war showing no sign of slowing down or stopping. One Dutch journalist and author living in the region believes the violence is the result of a takeover by Moroccans of the lucrative cocaine trade, whose mafia drug lords are now living a life of luxury in Dubai. Apparently, the Dutch Moroccans were formerly working hand in glove with an Irish gang, the majority of whom are also now living in Dubai after being forced out of Spain. Their leaving created a drug-trafficking power vacuum, resulting in a mafia style war between mobsters eager to take over the revenue stream, in which Italian and Colombian gangs are also involved.