Marbella - The hub of Swedish drug-traffickers

A review of police operations indicates that on the Costa del Sol there have been more than 100 arrests of Swedish-based gang members since 2018. Among the most well-known names is that of Amir Mekky, who is thought to be behind two murders in Spain: that of David Ávila, a drug trafficker also known as “Maradona,” in 2018 as he was leaving the church in San Pedro Alcántara after his son’s First Communion; and that of  Moroccan Sofian Mohamed , alias Zacato, in this case in the garden of his luxury villa in Estepona. Mekky led a  network of hitmen known as Los Suecos or The Swedes , who are accused of around 20 murders in Sweden.

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Certainly, the tentacles of some gangs have spread in Marbella. Last February, the husband and stepson of Marbella’s mayor, Ángeles Muñoz – Swedes Lars Gunnar Broberg and Joakim Peter Broberg – were arrested on suspicion of drug trafficking and money laundering in an operation which began after a tip-off from the Swedish police. Another 71 people linked to a Swedish crime organization were arrested in the same bust.

The case illustrates why the Costa del Sol is the criminal gang’s location of choice: first, they came to acquire drugs; they  brought the drugs in from Morocco , stored them on the coast of Málaga then moved them to northern Europe using removal vans among other means. The profits are enormous: a kilo of marijuana costs €1,500 in Andalusia and sells for €9,000 in Scandinavia. Later they expanded their business; art, gold and luxury homes were used to launder the money. “This organization shows the incidence of Swedish criminality in Spain,” police sources state.

english.elpais.com/spain/2021-09-17/the-swedish-narcos-escaping-the-cold-in-spains-costa-del-sol.html