THE Costa del Sol has been described as the ‘Champions League’ of organised crime by senior police officers.
They warned that foreign hitmen are being hired for what they called ‘derisory’ sums to carry out killings along the Malaga coast.
The comments came during an award ceremony which honoured two senior Policia Nacional inspectors for their work in tackling drug trafficking and organised crime.
But the occasion took a darker turn, when they warned about the scale of criminal activity in the region.
Daniel Pascual, head of ‘Group V’ of the National Police’s Drugs and Organised Crime Unit (Udyco), revealed how officers in Marbella prevented a suspected contract killing after discovering a vehicle containing firearms and a grenade.
Police launched an investigation and spent five days on surveillance before arresting three men who were believed to have travelled to the Costa del Sol to carry out the attack.
According to Pascual, officers replaced the weapons inside the vehicle with deactivated firearms, allowing them to monitor the suspects while gathering evidence.
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The three men were arrested before they could carry out the planned killing.
Investigators found that the suspects had been staying in a safe house and moved around Marbella without attracting much attention, including travelling on electric scooters.
Pascual also warned that criminal organisations were recruiting young foreign nationals to carry out violent attacks for relatively small amounts of money.
The officer said the Costa del Sol had become a major international hub for organised crime, with criminal networks operating across borders and using local bases in order to coordinate their activities.
He also revealed details of another investigation into a criminal group that had allegedly used a website and an app to arrange murders and kidnappings online.
The ceremony was held to honour the work of Pascual and his colleague JA Chito, both of whom have spent 15 years working against organised crime.
Chito was also involved in investigations which targeted violent gangs operating all across the Costa del Sol.
One major operation, known as Operation Kuni, led to nine arrests and 11 searches in Marbella, Estepona and El Saucejo, in Sevilla province.
The group, whose members were of French origin, allegedly carried out violent robberies against other drug traffickers to steal narcotics.
Investigators said the gang used military-grade weapons to target rival criminal groups.
Pascual also said police efforts were focused not only on the people carrying out attacks but also on identifying the organisers behind them, including those operating from abroad.
He added that his team had seized around 25 tonnes of cocaine during six years of work against drug trafficking.
The officers’ warnings highlight the challenges facing police on the Costa del Sol, where international criminal networks, drug trafficking and violent disputes between rival groups continue to demand significant resources.
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