Costa News Spain Breaking News | English News in Spain.
MARBELLA is home to a diverse and multicultural community, attracted by its climate and lifestyle, as well as the international nature of the city.
There is another group of people who are not entrepreneurs, executives or luxury-seekers. marbellini that is thriving more than ever – the fraudsters, the drug traffickers and the robbers.
Luxury villas, supercar hangouts and beach clubs in the resort have become places where unwittingly wealthy people can rub shoulders with organised criminals who plan to rob the next day.
This reality was rarely so clearly revealed as by an egregious robbery in broad daylight that took place last fall.
A Chinese man was riding through one Marbella’s exclusive residential areas, when he came under attack by a masked band of men who had dined out in Puerto Banus and lived it up the night prior.
On September 19, around 2pm, a brutal attack was carried out on Avenida Buchinger in the vicinity of the Mansion Club.
The victim was driving a Skoda Rapid and carrying a backpack containing €20,000 in cash, which belonged to a Chinese businessman friend who had asked him to transport the money from Malaga to Marbella.
Investigators claim that two Peugeot 3008 SUVs suddenly sped up behind his car, one of which cut across his path, forcing him to brake.
The driver reversed his car and hit a tree, fearing that a gun would be shoved into his face.
Four hooded males then jumped from the vehicles. At least one was armed with pistol.
Witnesses later told police the attackers identified themselves as ‘police officers’. The businessman’s car was being searched when he was beaten.
The banknotes were reportedly scattered on the ground when they discovered the backpack. This scene was more like a heist film than a peaceful Marbella street.
In a few moments, the thieves had fled with all the cash.
The robbery was captured on security camera footage and lasted less than two minutes. The Udyco Unit of the Policia Nacional, which specializes in organised crime and has been assigned the investigation, is handling the investigation. A Marbella investigative court has also placed the case under confidentiality.
Local reports claim that the same group of thieves was caught on camera the night before the attack strolling through Puerto Banus, and eating at a fancy restaurant in the port.
Investigators have identified at least two suspects using the CCTV footage – one a fearsome Russian called Arseny Garibyan, who wielded the pistol and was the first one to bash the businessman.
The other is a Spanish male with a lengthy criminal record. He has been arrested more than twenty times for offenses such as violent theft, fraud, and assault.
The robbery is not isolated, it’s part of an organised criminal network that extends beyond the Costa del Sol to Andalucia.
Police have also dismantled gangs in Malaga alone. They were accused of installing GPS tracking devices onto victims’ cars and staging fake police intervention.
In one case, both a current and former Marbella Policia Local officers were arrested in connection with an alleged kidnapping of a Chinese businessman by using firearms and police style equipment.
The tracking devices known as balizas have become one of the most important tools in organised crime.
These devices allow criminals the opportunity to track targets discretely. They do not rely on random encounters, but rather turn victims into moving opportunities.
The Marbella robbery has now been linked to an even wider police crackdown, known as Operation Solucar Austral. This joint Guardia Civil/Police Nacional initiative targets violent robbery groups across Andalucia.
Investigators believe some criminal groups have a penchant for robbing rich targets in and around Marbella – they plan operations inland before travelling to the Costa del Sol to carry them out.
Marbella is a hunting destination for those who are looking to hunt in an area with anonymity and wealth.
In the province of Sevilla, raids were conducted in Poligono Sur and Torreblanca, as well as in Utrera.
Solucar Austral targets gangs which target jewellers and small business owners rather than opportunistic crime. These are organised groups with access to weapons, surveillance tools, transportation, logistics and other resources.
In one linked case in Cadiz province, a jeweller was ambushed after criminals allegedly tracked his movements using a GPS device, before stealing a briefcase of jewellery valued at well over €180,000.
The police traced the signal to a Sevilla residential block.
There is a pattern that emerges.
Criminal groups roam the Costa del Sol in open, socializing with tourists at the same restaurants, on the same beaches, and along the same roads.
Enjoying the same good life that their victims enjoy – before switching into gear and robbing them blind using shockingly violent and brazen assaults.
