The gangland murder of a Swedish rapper on the streets of Marbella was allegedly carried out by a man with zero links to the criminal underworld, it has emerged.
According to Swedish newspaper Aftonbladet, the 38-year-old man arrested for the killing of rapper Hamza Karimi – known by his stage name Hamko – may have been coerced into carrying out the murder.
Authorities are now investigating whether he acted under threats or pressure from individuals linked to Sweden’s mafia networks.
The suspect remains behind bars at Alhaurin de la Torre prison in Malaga.
Spain’s Policia Nacional and Europol are working to determine whether the order to kill originated in Sweden or was the direct result of an ongoing turf war between Scandinavian gangs on the Costa del Sol.
According to Aftonbladet, the alleged killer has no known links to any criminal network and does not appear in databases of active Swedish gangs.
Police sources in Sweden said the man ‘had no relevant criminal record’ and had been living in Uppsala before travelling to Spain from Gothenburg.
Investigators now suspect that he may have been manipulated or threatened into committing the crime, possibly by figures connected to the drug and arms trade between Sweden and southern Europe.
At the time of the shooting, he was reportedly accompanied by two other Swedes well known to Stockholm police – both long-term residents of the Costa del Sol and believed to be under threat back home.
‘The coercion hypothesis is on the table,’ Aftonbladet quoted sources close to the investigation as saying. ‘He may have acted under direct threats or blackmail.’
Karimi, 23, was known in Sweden’s music scene as Hamko. His artistic career was overshadowed by a turbulent past – he had previously served a five-year prison sentence for complicity in an attempted murder, according to Aftonbladet.
His criminal record connected him to the Dalen Network (Dalennätverket), one of Sweden’s most violent gangs.
However, in recent months, Swedish police had placed him within the rival Fagersjö/Farsta network, which has been locked in a bloody conflict with the Dalen group – a feud that has already claimed several lives in Stockholm and Uppsala.
On the day of the shooting, as Hamko’s body was removed from the restaurant terrace in Puerto Banús, fireworks lit up the skies over Stockholm.
Members of the Dalen gang celebrated the killing on social media – an act Swedish investigators believe confirms it was a targeted hit ordered from afar.
Read more Costa del Crime news at the Spanish Eye.
