MARBELLA – On Tuesday, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs confirmed reports in the Spanish media that the two suspects arrested after the shooting at a club in Marbella are Dutch.
The second Dutch person arrested is a 32-year-old man. The man who was arrested on Monday is a 40-year-old Dutchman. He is said to be the shooter and was himself hospitalised with stab wounds to the head and body. However, he was already released on Tuesday. Although, it is possible that new arrests will follow.
Fight between drug gangs
According to Europa Press, the municipality of Marbella has announced in consultation with the owners’ that Opium will remain closed. At least for the time being. The newspaper La Vanguardia reports that the shooting could be due to a brawl between gangs engaged in drug trafficking.
“Despite the National Police still keeping the investigation open to determine the causes of the event, it has already been noted that the shooting, which took place in the reserved area of the property, was carried out by members of international crime,” the statement said. text in the Spanish newspaper.
Shooting
Monday a brawl broke out at the crowded Opium Beach Club on Playa Pinillo around 1.00 am. Videos circulated on social media show a man taking a large bottle after which shots are fired. Great panic immediately breaks out. Furthermore, the club was packed due to a performance by the popular South African DJ Black Coffee.
Five people were injured and taken to hospital. The shooter, two persons who were already released, and also an Irish man and woman. Both are in intensive care with bullet wounds. The 32-year-old woman has since undergone surgery.
“One-time incident”
Felix Romero, spokesman for the municipality of Marbella emphasized in a press statement Monday morning that this is a “one-off incident” and underlined that the city has “a high level of security”.
According to Marbella24horas.es, the news archive is making short shrift of this claim. Social networks have been filled with all sorts of violent events for weeks. The latest incident involved a luxury watch thief who grabbed a police officer’s weapon and tried to shoot him at close range. The tragedy was prevented because the service weapon was in a safety mode.
Also, some videos of luxury watch thefts went viral, along with those of other types of raids. A contractor was attacked by a father and son who were disturbed by the noise from construction work. In Miraflores, someone was shot because of a possible settlement or a crime of passion.
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Complaints are being made on social media about the gangs in Marbella engaged in drug trafficking, arms trafficking and other criminal activities. Often it concerns people of nationalities other than Spanish. According to the newspaper El Español, there are also law firms in Marbella that are able to set up important structures to protect these criminals and provide platforms for money laundering.
“Very extensive police force”
Finally, Romero said that Marbella “has a very extensive police force, from the National Police, the Guardia Civil and the Local Police and when these circumstances arise, they act quickly.”
Scenario not new on Costa del Sol
Marbella, a city where the population at least doubles in the summer and which is the meeting point for the international jet set, is trying to cope with this problem. However, a scenario like Opium is not new to Costa del Sol. For decades, the security forces and state agencies have been fighting this problem, often with success, although for some time all efforts have been focused on Campo de Gibraltar, the drug gateway to Europe.
