AS tourists sip cocktails in Spain’s picturesque coastal towns, hitmen as young as 17 are being flown in to unleash blood-soaked mayhem.
Violent Swedish gangs are flocking to sunny European hotspots for deadly working holidays to soak up the sun and sea – while carrying out brutal executions in broad daylight.
GettyWhile Brits flock to the sunny holiday hotspot – much darker tourists are also arriving to carry out violent executions[/caption]
SolarpixHamza Karimi, 25, was killed in a shooting in Marbella earlier this month[/caption]
SolarPixA gunman emerged from behind a black vehicle to kill Hamza[/caption]
Gangsters from Nordic countries, as well as Britain and Turkey, are increasingly basing themselves on the Costa del Sol and Costa Blanca, creating a volatile “criminal ecosystem”.
Teen hitmen as young as 15 are being flown in to carry out assassinations, as crime bosses take advantage of their rivals, “letting their guard down” while enjoying the Spanish sun.
Cops revealed that one 15-year-old Swedish national living in Alicante was “ordering murderers like someone orders a pizza” – luring other teenagers into brutal executions using aliases on Telegram and Signal.
It comes after Hamza Karimi, 25, was gunned down in front of shocked holidaymakers while enjoying some downtime in Marbella’s Puerto Banus earlier this month.
The Swedish “gangsta rap” artist, who went by the name Hamko, was talking on his phone outside a cafe when a suspected hitman calmly walked up to him and pulled out a gun.
The shooter, a 38-year-old Afghan-born Swede, fired up to a dozen rounds, with CCTV footage showing Karimi rolling on the floor in a bid to dodge the bullets.
He was rushed to hospital but died of his injuries.
His death is just the latest in a string of brazen gangland murders this year.
Marilo Valencia, spokeswoman for the Reformist Police Union, said this week: “Many of the gangsters come here, some to work, others simply to enjoy themselves.
“But when their enemies lower their guard, when they relax, the hitmen strike.”
Valencia branded it a “criminal ecosystem”, where each network has a role, be it transport, logistics or recruitment.
“They complement each other,” she said.
“They’re part of an ecosystem of crime.”
However, she warned that police resources are not keeping up with the growing criminal activity.
“The criminals know our situation,” she added.
“They know we don’t clock off. We’re police officers 24 hours a day. But we need more manpower; the pressure never stops.”
The hitmen don’t live here. They arrive, carry out the job, and disappear
Police source
Another investigator said: “They live peacefully, even cordially, as long as no one tries to take over another’s business.
“They move in the same circles, the same bars. They’re drawn together like magnets.”
“Irishmen go to Irish bars, Scandinavians to theirs – they feel untouchable,” a third source said.
“The hitmen don’t live here. They arrive, carry out the job, and disappear.”
Settling old scores
Police sources believe Hamko’s killing may be linked to infighting between rival Swedish gangs now operating in Spain.
The groups are believed to be bringing over their business models and vendettas from Stockholm, and are finding the Costa del Sol is the perfect place for both leisure and business.
“These aren’t local feuds,” said one officer.
GettyFuengirola on the Costa del Sol in southern Spain – where two Brit mob bosses were shot dead at an Irish bar[/caption]
SolarpixHamza has been described as a former friend of another Swedish rapper[/caption]
“They come for a few days, relax… and use that time to settle old scores. It’s the only moment their enemies let their guard down.
“The wars may start abroad, but the executions happen here.”
Sweden has been gripped by gang violence for years, and in 2023 recorded one of the highest numbers of gun deaths in Europe.
Rawa Majid, a Swedish-Kurdish crime boss better known as The Kurdish Fox, leads the feared Foxtrot Network from his base in Turkey.
The wars may start abroad, but the executions happen here
Police officer
Foxtrot are said to be expert drug traffickers and money launderers and are brutal when it comes to enforcement.
Among Majid’s most trusted associates was Ismail Abdo, until he split from Foxtrot and set up his own clan, called Rumba, in 2023.
That same year, his mother was murdered in her home in Uppsala, Sweden, in a hit that cops believe was ordered by Foxtrot.
The killing sparked a cycle of tit-for-tat shootings and bombings that have killed dozens, including innocent bystanders, one being a 12-year-old girl who was killed by a stray bullet that was intended for two other gang members.
Swedish PoliceRawa Majid, also known as the Kurdish Fox, is the leader of Sweden’s most violent gang, named Foxtrot[/caption]
SUPPLIEDMike Tenezos, also known as ‘The Greek’ is the leader of the Dalen gang – a rival to Majid’s Foxtrot[/caption]
SUPPLIEDMajid’s former second-in-command Ismail Adbo – known as ‘Strawberry’ – is hiding in Turkey[/caption]
The rivalry continues to this day and is behind acts of serious violence between Swedish clans both at home and abroad.
The assassination of Karimi, in Marbella, topped off one of the bloodiest summers on Spain’s costas for years.
In April, a British 32-year-old with links to organised crime was assassinated in broad daylight while walking home from a football match in nearby Mijas.
He ordered murderers like someone orders a pizza
Police officer
Two months later, in June, two Scottish mob bosses were assassinated at an Irish pub in the neighbouring town of Fuengirola, reportedly as part of an ongoing drugs war in Glasgow.
Ross Monaghan, 43, and Eddie Lyons Jr, 46, were gunned down after they’d watched the Champions League final at Monaghan’s bar.
The Costa del Sol and Costa Blanca also became a battleground for two of Turkey’s most feared drug factions – the Daltons and Caspers.
At around 7pm on Sunday, August 3, Caner Kocer was approached by three men on Pedro Lorca Street in Torrevieja, a resort on the Costa Blanca that is hugely popular with Brits.
The 30-year-old, reportedly a leader of the Daltons, was shot six times, killing him instantly.
Child assassins
Weeks later, an alleged teenage hitman and his accomplice were arrested in Fuengirola for planning to carry out an assassination.
A coordinated operation between Spanish police, Europol and Swedish authorities prevented the hit, leading to the arrest of six suspects linked to a violent Nordic criminal network.
Two of the detainees – one of them a minor – had flown in from Gothenburg, Sweden, on June 29, allegedly contracted over social media to carry out a killing.
In 2024, a 17-year-old male was also sent from Sweden to Benalmadena with instructions to kill, staying in local hotels and using a scooter to scope out a target associated with a motorcycle gang.
His arrest, moments before being handed a weapon by his two Swedish colleagues, led to the dismantling of an organisation dedicated to recruiting minors to commit murders.
APPolice officers near the scene of a shooting in Malmo, Sweden[/caption]
AFPA damaged building after a powerful explosion in Storvreta outside Uppsala, Sweden[/caption]
AFPPolice commandos enter a building at the scene of a reported shooting at a school in Malmo, Sweden[/caption]
Incredibly, the group was run by a Swedish national who had just turned 15 and lived in Alicante, just over 300miles away.
He used Telegram and Signal under aliases such as Donald Trump, The Recruiter, and Ms Evelina.
“He was the f*****g boss,” a police officer told El País.
“He ordered murderers like someone orders a pizza.”
The Costa del Sol has often been dubbed the “United Nations of crime” because more than 100 mafia groups are known to have a presence there.
The area is a hotbed for mafiosos due to its strategic location as the main entry point for both marijuana from North Africa and cocaine from South America.
It is also easy to go undetected, with fugitives able to blend into the large expat population.
Speaking earlier this year, Pedro Agudo, head of the Judicial Police Brigade in Malaga, explained: “Even the bad guys like to live in the best parts of the country – and this is one of them.
“I’m from Galicia myself, and I even asked to be posted to the Costa del Sol. It must be the quality of life.”
GettyPlaya de Venus, near the street where a Swedish rapper with shot dead in broad daylight[/caption] Published: [#item_custom_pubDate]
