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‘A united nations of crime’: how Marbella became a magnet for gangsters

sigmond

sigmond

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The new international crime organisations have made Marbella their centre of operations. And as violence rises, the police lag far behind
by Nacho Carretero and Arturo Lezcano
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One morning last autumn, a dozen or so locals were eating breakfast at a cafe under a clear Marbella sky, in front of the offices of the Special Organised Crime Response Unit (Greco), on the Costa del Sol. The property is nondescript – an unobtrusive building in a working-class neighbourhood – and only someone with a sharp eye for detail might notice the two security cameras monitoring the front entrance. The cafe’s regulars drank coffee and ate toast, unaware that only 24 hours earlier, in another part of the city, Greco agents had rescued a man from a garage, alive, but with holes drilled through his toes. It was the latest local case of amarre, or kidnapping, to settle a score between criminal gangs.

That afternoon, in Puerto Banús, the wealthiest and most extravagant area of the city, a young British man with ties to organised crime walked out of a Louis Vuitton store and found himself surrounded by a crew of young Maghrebis, “soldiers” from one of the Marseille clans. “They didn’t want anything specific,” he said. “They just stared me down and said: ‘What’s up?’ They were looking for trouble. Things like this have been happening for a while now. It’s getting really dangerous here,” he said, with no apparent sense of the irony of a criminal complaining about criminality.

On the same day, in New Andalucía, one of the luxury housing developments on the outskirts of the city, next to the scorched shell of the Sisú Hotel, which was set on fire in what seemed to be a settling of scores, a Rolls-Royce sped through an intersection and smashed into an oncoming car. The driver, a young man in a tracksuit and tattoos, got out and inspected the damage, clutching three mobile phones and glaring defiantly at passersby.

It was in the 60s, during Spain’s economic “miracle” and development boom, that the Costa del Sol was transformed into the tourist hotspot of southern Europe. First, working-class holidaymakers thronged the public beaches. Then an emerging class of jet-setters found their piece of paradise in Marbella. The plan to develop the region succeeded, but success came with its own baggage. “This was the Francoist agreement,” said Antonio Romero, an author and former politician who is one of the most outspoken voices against organised crime in the region. “You, the criminals, come here to relax, don’t commit any crimes, and bring your money.” And so, as the authorities turned a blind eye, Marbella became a premier destination for the global criminal elite.

The Costa del Sol is organised crime’s southern frontier – a stretch of urban sprawl extending from Málaga to Estepona, with Marbella, a city of 147,633 people, as its capital. According to the Spanish Intelligence Centre for Counter-Terrorism and Organised Crime, there are at least 113 criminal groups representing 59 different nationalities operating out of the area.

There is nowhere quite like the Costa del Sol – a long tongue of land stretching 55 miles between the mountains and the sea. To the south, less than 10 miles of open water separates the region from Morocco – the world’s largest producer of hashish – and from the autonomous Spanish outposts of Ceuta and Melilla. Less than an hour’s drive away is one of Europe’s main entry points for cocaine, the port of Algeciras. Across the bay from Algeciras is the British overseas territory of Gibraltar, a tax haven separated from Spain by a fence. To the north rise the Málaga and Granada mountains, Europe’s main region for marijuana cultivation.
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link (longread)
 
Thanks for posting this.

Very interesting article indeed.

Cannot help myself but to wonder if this isn't an unintended or unforeseen consequence of Spain's and Portugal's so-called success stories that are so often cited?

Coincidence or simply due to proximity to certain other producing countries and known trafficking routes?

Questions and ponderances is all i.e. not statement of fact nor educated guesses or assumptions.
 
dalpat077 said:
Cannot help myself but to wonder if this isn't an unintended or unforeseen consequence of Spain's and Portugal's so-called success stories that are so often cited?

Coincidence or simply due to proximity to certain other producing countries and known trafficking routes?
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That is a good question and definitely not something discussed in the American media. There is occasional coverage here of drug decriminalization in Portugal or cannabis in Spain, but more just as an example of successful policy--I don't think I've ever heard of the source of Portuguese drugs discussed. I always assumed it was the same as it was before, which I would guess is gangs operating through the Netherlands, or since Portugal is so close to Africa, maybe directly from Morrocco or one of the less-than-stable nations lining the Mediterranean? Now I'm actually curious...


Seems like an interesting place to visit though. A major trans-shipment point for European hash and cocaine and heroin I'd assume. I wonder how much cheaper it is to get high there than in the EU countries the drugs are destined for...? Better weather too for sure. I wonder if it's cheap to live?
 
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Felonious Monk said:
That is a good question and definitely not something discussed in the American media. There is occasional coverage here of drug decriminalization in Portugal or cannabis in Spain, but more just as an example of successful policy--I don't think I've ever heard of the source of Portuguese drugs discussed. I always assumed it was the same as it was before, which I would guess is gangs operating through the Netherlands, or since Portugal is so close to Africa, maybe directly from Morrocco or one of the less-than-stable nations lining the Mediterranean? Now I'm actually curious...


Seems like an interesting place to visit though. A major trans-shipment point for European hash and cocaine and heroin I'd assume. I wonder how much cheaper it is to get high there than in the EU countries the drugs are destined for...? Better weather too for sure. I wonder if it's cheap to live?
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neversickanymore said:
@dalpat077 its certainly shows unforeseen and unintended results of the drug war🤐
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Like I said: just me wondering really. As I'm sure all are acutely aware: I do have a tendency to overthink things (and probably expend far too much time and energy doing so).

The above being said: I also like to be able to back things up by data.

If data and statistics are your thing then take a look at the data and statistics on the link below (the datasets used in the compilation of the European Monitoring Centre for Drugs and Drug Addiction's 2021 Report) (although data ends, mostly, at 2019 so they run behind a tad it would seem).

There's everything you want to know about price, purity, quantities seized, and a pile of other shit and on a EU country-by-country basis.

Surprise surprise: the total number of seizures in Spain is top of the pops and by a HUGE margin. Oddly enough though: if you cross-reference the data it's surprising that the purity in Spain and Portugal (speaking specifically about Cocaine here anyway i.e. cannot say the rest is of much interest to me) is NOT top of the pops. Seems to me there's better places in Europe for purer Cocaine oddly enough. Talking street level seizures here though (see below).

What irks me though and what's missing: the purity of bulk seizures is not mentioned anywhere and that's an important little nugget that's missing from all of this data. And of course: due to the number of countries involved and their different reporting methods etc. this data, in my opinion anyway, isn't the easiest to collate and I don't really believe it's that representative.

But is it really showing unforeseen and unintended results of the drug war? Or is it a portent of what's to come should said drug war be brought to an end and full worldwide decriminalization or legalization is the result? I don't know the answer of course. Only thing I am certain of: it's either got to be a global thing or nothing i.e. assuming I'm right (but not saying I am) then you could just end up with pockets of a Marbella around the planet.

Statistical Bulletin 2021 | www.emcdda.europa.eu

www.emcdda.europa.eu www.emcdda.europa.eu
 
I’m not a believer in prohibition. That being said why is Spain making so many large supply side busts? Could be because they are no longer tying up their resources pointlessly destroying the lives of drug users and addicts and have instead focused on an up the latter approach. Trying instead at a futile offensive targeting larger supply chain goals
 
The scariest side to legalizing the market is what are the out of work, violence level drug prohibition thugs going to move on to?
 
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