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The two men, like so many of the neighbours they share on the Costa del Sol lived in comfort and luxury within their villas.
Swarthy, the one who is known (el moreno( ) had a number of luxury apartments in Marbella that he could switch between at will.
For Little Birdie (pajaritoHe preferred to stay in one luxury apartment only.
The portfolios of their properties could have made many high-rollers on the Costa del Sol envious.
READ MOREWatch: Gunshots as Atlantic Storms flush narcos in Guardia Civil Ambush on Sevilla River
But the thing that both men had in common – aside from their line of work – was that neither paid a dime in rent, nor were their names seen on any documentation.
It was not surprising that all four properties had been squatted.
They were also different from the typical expats who are soaking up the sunshine because they were all hardened mafia killers, deeply involved in drug trafficking that has taken over southern Andalucia.
They were living the high life on the coast of Malaga, but secretly they were commuting into the muddy wetlands along the Guadalquivir River to work in high-priced jobs. sicarios The most dangerous gangs of the region.
But their cover was finally blown after getting into a shootout with the Guardia Civil in the pitch-black silence of the river marshes on November 8 – a world away from the glitz of Puerto Banus.
READ MOREWatch this moment when a Spanish mayor speaks out against drug traffickers, while standing mere metres away from idling boats of narcos.
Elite officers of the GRECO Unit had been monitoring a drugs landing at a notorious chokepoint known as La Señuela On the outskirts Isla mayor, the silence was broken by the rhythmic thuds from 7.62mm rounds.
After realising that they were in a trap, instead of giving up, the narcos went on the offensive, armed with war weapons.
A vehicle loaded with five men charged the police position, with the occupants screaming ‘we have to kill those dogs’ as they unleashed a hail of bullets from AK-47 assault rifles.
The chaotic firefight resulted in three injuries to officers.
READ MORE: Shock in Almeria as drug speed boats form ‘floating narco village’ in tourist beauty spot during Storm Emilia
The bulletproof vest of one agent saved his life, shattering his ribs. Two bullets hit the abdomen of another, forcing him to undergo urgent surgery.
The gunmen disappeared into the darkness. They left behind shell casings which led investigators from the marshes to the luxurious urbanisations on the coast.
The National Police conducted a massive search of the area where the two were hiding after the harrowing shooting.
Investigators found that Swarthy was living a bizarre double life in Marbella.
Despite earning up to €50,000 per ‘security job’, he was living as a high-end ‘okupa’ (squatter), occupying the three different luxury villas while surrounding himself with drones, satellite phones and cocaine.
Swarthy had installed his wife and children in his three squatted homes, even moving his brother-in-law in to act as his ‘logistics man,’ renting cars and driving him around in a ‘security capsule’ so that the hitman never had to get behind the wheel of a car registered to his own name.
When the police broke down his doors, they discovered him watching Netflix with a 70kg bag of cocaine and an arsenal that included drones, night-vision goggles, satellite phones, and weapons.
His family was sleeping in other rooms.
The scene was far from the crime which led to the downfall of these men.
In the process of the investigation, detectives unravelled a sophisticated network led by a local kingpin known as ‘Lettuce’.
Lettuce is accused of managing logistics from his base in Isla Major, using stolen tractors, stash houses, and tractors to move tons of hashish across the difficult terrain.
But for muscle, he ‘outsourced’ to the professionals from the coast.
In Sevilla and Malaga, 250 agents were involved in the operation that led to 10 arrests.
Police seized 4.5 tonnes of hashish, 70 kilos of cocaine, and the recovery of the ‘weapons of war’ used to hunt the police.
Police unions have hailed the arrest as a significant victory, citing the violence of an ambush in November to demand improved protections.
A spokesperson for Jusapol said: “The 250 agents working on the ground deserve to be recognized once more for their dangerous profession.”
“The colleague shot in the marshes has earned it hard.”
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