Two Scottish men have been shot to death outside a popular Irish bar in Fuengirola.
The execution-style hit unfolded late on Saturday night (May 31) outside the seafront restaurant-cum-cocktail bar Monaghans.
It’s the latest in a string of violent incidents that is turning Spain’s southern coast into a gangland battleground.
According to reports, terrified witnesses flooded the 112 emergency line with calls at around 11.30pm, after hearing a series of gunshots.
Witnesses said a car pulled up, masked men jumped out, and one of them opened fire on two people standing outside the venue.
One victim was shot in the chest and died instantly. The second was hit in the thorax and abdomen.
Despite desperate efforts by paramedics, both victims died at the scene.
A murder probe is now underway, with detectives from the National Police’s Violent Crime Unit (UDEV) and forensic teams combing the area for clues.
Police so far believe the murders point to a ‘settling of scores’ between rival gangs.
The shooter fled, sparking a manhunt under the so-called ‘Marbella Plan’ – an emergency policing strategy launched in 2024 amid an uptick in mafia activity across Malaga province.
Francisco Javier Salas, the Deputy Government Delegate in Malaga, confirmed the victims’ nationalities and said the Costa del Sol Anti-Crime Plan has been fully activated.
Locals have grown increasingly fearful as the region, long a magnet for sunseekers and retirees, is increasingly becoming a hotspot for international gangs settling scores.
Earlier this year, a British man was shot to death while walking home from a football match in Mijas.
A few weeks ago, a report by Malaga Hoy warned that the number of drug trafficking groups established in the area was increasing.
Many have relocated part of their operations to the Costa del Sol, attracted by its climate, infrastructure, and international connections.
Russian, Romanian, Latin American, Swedish, and Balkan mafias, and especially the Mocro Maffia (of Moroccan-Dutch origin), are competing for control of drug trafficking, human trafficking and arms trafficking.
