Spanish police have launched an operation dubbed the "Marbella Plan" in a bid to keep British and Irish tourists safe following shootings along the famous Costa del Sol.
Police warned locals and tourists in southern Spain there will be more random stops and police checkpoints in the popular holiday destination. They are increasing vigilance in residential areas as well as in shopping centres and popular nightspots such as the millionaires playground of Puerto Banus.
"National police are launching the so-called 'Marbella Plan' which will involve an increase in the number of officers who will be on duty in the resort until the month of October, with the aim of combatting organised and common crime," a spokesperson for Spain's National Police said on Thursday.
"The plan will mean greater uniformed police presence on the town's streets. Checks on vehicles and people will be increased, with random operations at different times and in different places, to increase the surprise factor. Police units will be deployed in places with agglomerations of people, especially in commercial and leisure areas, and there will also be operations in residential areas."
According to the spokesperson, aerial resources - believed to mean helicopters and drones - and specialist sniffer dogs would assist police throughout the operation. "The focus will be on providing a safe environment and improving public safety and the safety of residents and tourists," the spokesperson added.
The start of the operation, which will continue through the summer into October, comes after locals started to brand Puerto Banus the "wild west" following four shootings in the past month.
Gangs battle for control of drugs and prostitution behind the scenes. Earlier this month police said they arrested a British national and an Irishman they described as having organised crime links after the British-owned restaurant La Sala was targeted on March 11.
An estimated 15 bullets were fired into the windows of the premises, where visitors over the years have included the likes of Tyson Fury, Anthony Joshua, Erling Harland, Jurgen Klopp and Harry Maguire, in the broad-daylight attack. The venue's shareholders include former Premier League star David Bentley, who was once branded the next 'David Beckham.'
On Wednesday, it was reported the victim of an April 2 shooting in Nueva Andalucia, a residential estate a five-minute drive from Puerto Banus, had been British. Police had not gone public with his nationality at the time. The 21-year-old was treated for gunshot wounds to his knee and "pelvis area."
Locals have openly expressed their concerns the whole of Marbella, voted the best European destination of 2024 last month be specialist website European Best Destinations, could suffer the effects of the dark underside of Puerto Banus, which is part of the Marbella municipality.
Sales worker Lina Nouri raged after another shooting near the port on March 16 when a man was injured outside a shisha bar-restaurant five days after the La Sala incident, adding: "Two shootings in five days. What reputation has Puerto Banus got now."
Antonio Mayor said: “Is this what’s it like? In the summer let’s put our swim shorts and sandals on as well as a bullet-proof vest.”
Another local wrote on social media, expressing her fears a stray bullet could kill an innocent person if the problems persist: “My god, that you go out for a quiet night out and this happens is incredible. A stray bullet could end up entering a house.”
Costa del Sol-based Ignacio Kindelan, in a direct message to Marbella’s mayoress Maria Ángeles Muñoz whose stepson Joakim Peter Broberg is facing trial for crimes including money laundering and membership of a criminal gang, said on Instagram in a mix of English and Spanish: “What the ****!!! It’s time to do something mayoress. This has crossed the line. The Wild West is going to **** all of Marbella’s business.”
Another concerned local said: “Years ago Puerto Banus was a wonderful paradise. Let’s see if the police increase and reinforce surveillance in Banus and stop sitting on roundabouts doing routine stops all day. They’d be much more effective.”
Referring to a previous shooting last July, when tourists were forced to run for cover after a gunman appeared from nowhere and fired towards a restaurant near another of Puerto Banus’ entrances, she added: “After that incident visitors disappeared.”
A man, said to be of "Nordic origin" was shot in the arm on February 10 in Nueva Andalucía, a residential area a short drive inland from Puerto Banus. Witnesses said two men got out of a car late that day and one fired the shots before they fled in the same vehicle.
Three arrests have taken place and the incident has been linked to a war between rival Swedish mafias. In July, 2022, a man was stabbed and four people shot at Opium Beach Club just east of Marbella town centre.
A 40-year-old Dutch national was arrested after the early-hours drama in front of hundreds of revellers. One of the most seriously-injured victims was a 32-year-old Irishman who after hospital treatment was arrested on suspicion of being involved in an altercation moments before the shooting in a VIP area of the stage where South African DJ Black Coffee was playing to a packed crowd.