Marbella shooting in broad daylight linked to suspected feud between European drug gangs

Two Danish nationals and one Dutch national, aged between 18 and 27, were arrested on Wednesday after a three-kilometre pursuit from the Golden Mile to Nagüeles

10/09/2026 a las 01:17h.

In broad daylight on Marbella's Golden Mile, an exclusive residential area packed with tourists making the most of the last days of summer, three ... suspects opened fire on a man in the street on Wednesday, just metres from a hotel. Witnesses reported hearing between three and six shots as people fled in panic and the victim was left seriously injured on the ground.

The suspected gang members fled at high speed in a Volkswagen. After a police pursuit lasting around three kilometres, the vehicle crashed in Nagüeles. The three suspects, aged between 18 and 27 and identified as two Danish nationals and one Dutch national, got out and tried to escape on foot but were caught by officers, three of whom were injured during the arrests and needed medical attention.

The shooting took place at around 2.15pm on Calle Arturo Rubinstein, next to the El Sultán Marbella hotel. Two of the alleged suspects initially ran off in opposite directions after shooting the victim, a 48-year-old Dutch national, and leaving him seriously injured on the ground. A few minutes later, however, both got into a car which fled towards Estepona, according to information obtained by this newspaper from sources close to the investigation.

The police chase

A Marbella Local Police patrol in the area began the pursuit and was joined by other Local Police units. The suspects drove at high speed and, at times, against the flow of traffic as they tried to evade the officers, ignoring repeated instructions to stop.

The chase ended in Nagüeles when the vehicle crashed. The suspects got out and tried to escape on foot but were quickly caught by the officers pursuing them.

Officers searched the surrounding area for the weapon allegedly used in the shooting but didn't find it. The National Police's Drugs and Organised Crime Unit (UDYCO) has taken over the investigation into the incident.

“The main theory points to problems between drug gangs”

Javier Salas, the sub-delegate for Spain's central government in Malaga, confirmed to the media on Wednesday that investigators' main theory was that the shooting stemmed from problems between drug-trafficking gangs from the European countries involved.

He praised the effectiveness of the police response, saying it had achieved "practically a hundred per cent" arrest rate in such situations.

Salas also highlighted the impact of the Costa del Sol Plan, a security operation deployed across the province. He said incidents involving firearms had "fallen significantly" as a result of the operation and stressed the authorities' commitment to tackling organised crime. However, he acknowledged that organised crime remains "an ongoing problem" in the area.

"We're working ever harder on this issue to put enough pressure on them so they can't continue to operate here," he said.