Bomb disposal experts were called to Mijas after a 35-year-old Danish man was arrested for carrying a hand grenade, it has emerged.
The arrest took place on Friday night in an area of villas on the outskirts of La Cala de Mijas.
Officers were forced to call in TEDAX explosives specialists, who rushed to the scene to take charge of the device.
The Guardia Civil is now investigating why the suspect was carrying the grenade.
No information has been released about the device’s condition or its intended use.
The discovery follows other cases involving hand grenades on the Costa del Sol this year.
In July, Policia Nacional announced the dismantling of a weapons and drug trafficking network, arresting four people and recovering 36 long guns, 11 handguns and more than a dozen grenades.
That investigation began after officers intercepted a car carrying six automatic long guns, three grenades and 180 rounds of military ammunition.
Later searches uncovered further weapons, protective equipment and drugs. Police also intercepted a vehicle carrying 120kg of cocaine.
In a separate investigation, Operation Benicio, officers thwarted an alleged assassination plot in Marbella involving three suspected hitmen who had travelled from Sweden.
According to police, a car had been left for them containing two pistols, a hand grenade and information to locate their intended targets.
Investigators replaced the weapons with judicial authorisation and monitored the suspects before arresting them as they allegedly prepared to carry out the attack.
Chief Inspector Daniel Pascual, who heads Group V of the Costa del Sol’s organised crime unit, told El Español that finding the grenade had heightened his team’s concerns.
‘This is escalating too far. This is war territory and we don’t know where it will lead,’ he recalled.
Pascual described policing organised crime on the Costa del Sol as ‘the Champions League’, saying officers were confronting exceptionally sophisticated criminals.
His team is also examining whether increased police pressure in Marbella has pushed some groups into surrounding towns.
Read more Andalucia news at the Spanish Eye.
