A shadow war between rivalling Turkish mafias has been blamed for a spate of gangland violence between the Costa del Sol and Costa Blanca in recent weeks.
Authorities in southern Spain are investigating a possible link between a shootout at an Aldi supermarket in Estepona in July and last weekend’s gangland assassination in Torrevieja – some 530km away.
At around 7pm on Sunday, August 3, Caner Kocer was allegedly approached by three men on Pedro Lorca street and shot six times, killing him instantly.
The 30-year-old, according to sources quoted by Spanish media, was a leader of the Daltons, one of Turkey’s most feared organised crime gangs.
READ MORE: Irish gangster ‘slashes countryman’s throat with box cutter’ on Spain’s Costa Blanca
Police in Spain have not formally identified the victim, but dozens of tributes have poured in for Kocer online and he is widely reported to be the victim in Turkish media.
The Guardia Civil has described his killing as a ‘settling of scores’ between rival Turkish gangs, who are also reported to be at odds on the Costa del Sol.
It comes after an innocent bystander was hit by a stray bullet during a shootout in an Aldi car park in Estepona on July 20.
That incident – believed to have been a ‘warning’ – has since been linked to the rivalry between the Daltons and the Caspers, another emerging Turkish clan.
There are now fears that this imported shadow war could bring more gangland violence to the streets of holiday hotspots like the Costa del Sol and Costa Blanca.
Witnesses to Kocer’s killing told police that three men approached him and opened fire without uttering a word.
Investigators said he was shot at least six times before the killers fled on foot, only for all three to be arrested within 20 minutes.
Footage shared on X showed multiple Guardia Civil officers attempting to revive Kocer, but he died before paramedics could arrive.
Kocer was reportedly known to both Turkish and European authorities for being a high-ranking leader of the Daltons.
The organisation is dedicated to contract killings and drug trafficking, among a host of other activities, and is linked to the feared Turkish kingpin Baris Boyun.
In September 2023, six members of the Daltons were executed in Athens, allegedly by the rival Saral clan (also Turkish).
Boyun was detained in Italy last May, but authorities believe his criminal network remains active and that the Daltons, its armed wing, have multiple cells in Spain.
Both the Costa del Sol and Costa Blanca are popular hideouts and bases for criminal gangs.
They are both busy areas with very international crowds, making it easier for gangsters to blend in with expats and tourists.
They are also strategically important, especially for drug trafficking, serving as major entry points for narcotics from South America and North Africa.
They are also, quite simply, attractive and enjoyable places for cash-rich gangsters to live.
However, there have been a string of violent incidents in recent months that have sparked concern among some of the regions’s communities.
In Orihuela, on the Costa Blanca, for example, an Irishman was shot in the head at the end of May in what was believed to be an assassination attempt.
Weeks later, in early July, an Irish gangster with a rap sheet that includes homicide, was arrested for slashing a man’s neck, also in Orihuela.
Read more Spain news at the Spanish Eye.
