Violent Swedish criminal gangs are threatening the security of Spain’s holiday costas, experts have warned.
Gangsters from Nordic countries, as well as Britain and Turkey, are increasingly basing themselves on the Costa del Sol, creating a volatile ‘criminal ecosystem’.
In a worrying new trend, hitmen as young as 17 are being flown in to carry out daylight assassinations, as crime bosses take advantage of their rivals ‘letting their guard down’ while enjoying the Spanish sun – with one teenager accused of ‘ordering murders like someone orders a pizza’.
It comes after Hamza Karimi, 25, was gunned down in front of shocked holidaymakers this month while holidaying in Marbella’s Puerto Banus.
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 (SRP), told the Spanish Eye this week that the string of recent shootings follows an influx of younger criminals moving to Spain’s costas, not only to run illegal networks but to enjoy the lifestyle.
The Costa del Sol is filled with international, high net-worth individuals who like to splash the cash on yachts, luxury cars and hotels – providing the perfect hiding place for wealthy criminals.
‘While some are here to work, others come to enjoy their money, drive nice cars and luxury hotels, they can blend in with the wealthy crowd,’ Valencia said.
However, she added that this can make them more vulnerable to attacks.
‘When you lower your guard or relax, that is when your enemy can take advantage and strike,’ she explained.
The Swedish mafia, she added, is just one of dozens operating along the coast, with each playing their own role in the ‘criminal ecosystem.’
‘The Swedish are known for money laundering and drug trafficking,’ she said.
‘When you’re a criminal coming to operate in Spain you will need logistics, a car that will go undetected, maybe false documents or even weapons, and you will go to the gang who specialises in those trades, and along the Costa del Sol there is a bit of everything.’
She said money is laundered into everything from property, restaurants and bars to car workshops.
The union rep said gangs often work together, unless someone crosses the line.
‘When someone is assassinated or shot it is usually because they betrayed the leader, owe someone money or it is a settling of accounts between rival groups,’ she explained, adding that hitmen – sometimes teenagers – are increasingly being flown in from abroad to take down rivals.
Valencia said she understands that tourists may be scared of catching ‘stray bullets’, with residents in Marbella often commenting that you never know who you’re sitting next to at a bar or cafe.
But she called for calm, adding: ‘Gangsters want to lay low and relax and enjoy themselves, or see family members, not attack people sitting next to them at cafes.
‘When there is violence, it is only ever targeted at other criminals.’
She said she is proud of the police’s work in tackling organised crime on the Costa del Sol, but warned that more investment is needed.
‘The salaries are too low and we need more officers and an update in our equipment and technology,’ she said.
‘Police are under constant pressure and we need to be able to keep up.’
Another investigator told local newspaper Diario Sur: ‘The gangs 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,’ added another source.
‘The hitmen don’t live here. They arrive, carry out the job, and disappear.’
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. ‘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 number 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.
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, 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.
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.
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.
Just days earlier another shootout erupted in a supermarket car park in Estepona, on the Costa del Sol. Fortunately, no one was injured.
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 of war by his two Swedish colleagues, led to the dismantling of an organisation dedicated to recruiting minors to commit murders.
Incredibly, the group was run by a Swedish national who had just turned 15 and lived in Alicante, some 500km 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 Pais. ‘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 mafias 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.’
Read more Costa del Crime news at the Spanish Eye.
