This is the dramatic moment nearly 20 heavily-armed police storm a famous Costa del Sol beach club and ordered tourists out of the pool.
British holidaymakers watched on speechless in their swim shorts and bikinis as armed officers wearing body armour crashed the Ocean Club in the Marbella resort of Puerto Banus in a broad-daylight raid under a glorious blue sky.
Tourists packing out the ‘beautiful people’ venue, which over the weekend held one of its two annual champagne parties which are always popular with Bank Holiday visitors from the UK, were urged to keep calm.
Police issued loudspeaker messages in Spanish and English saying: “This is just a routine check. The minute we finish you can continue enjoying your afternoon. Don’t worry, there’s nothing serious going on.”
But the images of the operation, which lasted nearly two hours and also involved a police helicopter which hovered overhead after officers moved in, showed why some revellers were left uneasy about their holidays being interrupted in such a radical way. One clubber is understood to have been arrested, although police have not yet commented officially on the reason for the detention.
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One clubber has been arrested, according to reports (SOLARPIX.COM)
Spanish cops swoop in on suspects at the Ocean Club in Marbella (SOLARPIX.COM)The spectacular club raid followed a string of shootings in the area, sparking the launch of the so-called Marbella Plan last month to keep British and Irish tourists safe. Police warned locals and visitors at the time they could expect to see more random stops and police checkpoints in and around the holiday destination. They said nothing about surprise raids on busy tourist-popular venues, although earlier this month heavily-armed officers crashed a gym at a sports club in the residential area of Nueva Andalucia near Puerto Banus and made three arrests. Gym users were asked for their ID before being allowed to continue with their routines.
The series of shootings so far this year in the Marbella area have included a March 11 attack on British-run eatery La Sala near Puerto Banus that led to the arrests in April of a British man and Irish national described by police as having links to organised crime.
Kerry Katona claimed recently she had U-turned on a decision to move to the famous Costa del Sol resort with her family including fiancé Ryan Mahoney because she no longer feels safe about the prospect following the violent incidents there.
Fernando Bentabol, the prosecutor in charge of combatting narco crime in the province of Malaga which Marbella is part of, shone the spotlight on its dark underbelly in a recent newspaper interview by likening it to Medellin.
Asked by a local Spanish journalist if the Costa del Sol was turning into Colombia’s second-largest city, the most violent in the world in the 1990s before a clean-up and the former home of notorious drug lord Pablo Escobar he said: “Yes and no. It can’t be compared to Medellin because countries such as Colombia are the ones that produce drugs, and most of the actions there are related to plantations, as happens in Morocco for example with cannabis. We are in the area where the drugs are introduced and distributed to Europe. But in terms of the level of the organisations involved and their economic capacity, yes it can of course be compared.”
Locals have branded parts of Marbella like Puerto Banus the ‘Wild West’. One suggested recently tourists should start thinking about putting on a bullet-proof vest with their swim shorts and sandals. Another wrote on social media, expressing her fears an innocent person could be killed: “A stray bullet could end up entering a house.”
In the early hours of Saturday morning, a 33-year-old man was shot on a residential estate a short drive from Puerto Banus, just across the Marbella municipal border in the neighbouring municipality of Estepona. No arrests have yet been made. Around ten shell casings thought to have been fired from an AK-47 were reportedly found on the ground at the scene.
British man Marcus Stewart mowed down several pedestrians in May 2017 after speeding away from the Ocean Club in an Audi following a fight between two groups of men from the UK. He was arrested by an armed cop on the beach after a police chase following a spectacular head-on crash on Marbella’s famous Golden Mile with a car carrying an 18-day-old baby. He was later jailed for more than five years. No charges were brought against a second Brit held in the drama, a passenger in the car.
The Ocean Club describes itself on its website as the “original classic beach club in Marbella and a reference for style, modern luxury and an atmosphere that has made it famous as one of Europe’s chic favourites for relaxing, partying and enjoying the best that summer has to offer.”
It adds: “Daytimes are easygoing, with a quality restaurant, while our themed parties are famous for being as glamorous as they are exciting and lively. Live music, dancers, entertainers and beautiful people make it an experience to remember.”
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It held its opening party this year on May 3 and its second champagne party on Sunday, a day after the weekend police raid. High-season bed packages around its saltwater pool cost up to EUROS 1,150 (POUNDS 980). The most expensive packages include three bottles of Veuve Clicquot. Revellers who book the most expensive VIP beds are warned online there is an additional EUROS 1120 (POUNDS 955) minimum spend on Saturdays.
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