Mafia Style Murder Heightens Fear In Marbella Expat Community

Yet another mafia-style incident in Marbella is sending warnings of increased danger to retired British expats in Spain.

The popular expat retirement hub of Marbella is again in the news for a Mafia-style murder which took place in an upscale residential street favoured for its luxury apartments. Located close by the city’s Congress and Exhibition Palace, the scene of the murder was near the Hotel Sultan. According to local police, at the present time the nationality and identity the murdered man is unknown.

The incident is reminding many local expat residents of the widely-reported death of Briton Peter Williamson, whose murder took place in Mijas’s Riviera del Sol some seven months ago. One of the suspects was finally arrested last month at his home in an upmarket housing estate near Murcia after police had linked the killing to a drug-fuelled war between two rival gangs. Over the past several years, it’s become obvious that Spain’s former negative reputation as a home-from-home for organised crime is reasserting itself and is causing huge concerns within the retired British expat community.

Some recently-arrived expatriates are blaming the upsurge in drug-related violence as the result of recently-arrived celebrity expat residents and their drug habits, but police believe it’s far more to do with the transportation of large quantities of drugs from Columbia by means of single-use submersibles able to carry at least 3,000 kilogrammes of cocaine. One such vessel along with its cargo was seized by police last November, and it's believed the subs are now in regular use.