Armed police storm Marbella beach club full of British tourists | World news

The drunken party came to a sudden halt as police urged partygoers to remain calm.

Officers said over the loudspeaker in Spanish and English, “This is just a routine check. Once we're done, you can continue enjoying your afternoon.

“Don't worry, it's nothing serious.”

But the operation lasted almost two hours, with a police helicopter hovering above us.

Footage shows some revelers felt uneasy when their holidays were interrupted by the dramatic raid.

It is believed one clubgoer has been arrested, although police have not yet confirmed the reason for the alleged arrest.

The spectacular club raid follows a series of shootings in the area, which prompted the launch of the so-called Marbella Plan last month to protect British and Irish tourists.

Police warned locals and visitors at the time to expect more random stops and police checkpoints in and around the tourist hotspot.

While police said nothing about surprise raids on busy tourist locations, heavily armed officers raided a sports club gym in the residential area of ​​Nueva Andalucia, near Puerto Banus, earlier this month, making three arrests.

Gym users were asked for their ID before being allowed to continue with their routines.

Violence in Marbella

This year's string of shootings in the Marbella area includes a March 11 attack on British eatery La Sala near Puerto Banus, which led to the arrest in April of a British man and an Irish national who, according to the police had ties to organized crime. crime.

Kerry Katona recently claimed she had made a U-turn after deciding to move to the famous Costa del Sol takes refuge with her family, including fiancé Ryan Mahoney, because she no longer feels safe about the prospect after the violent incidents there.

Fernando Bentabol, the prosecutor in charge of combating drug crime in the province of Malaga, which includes Marbella, put the spotlight on its dark underbelly in a recent newspaper interview by comparing it to Medellin.

When 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 campaign and the former home of infamous drug lord Pablo Escobar, he said, 'Yes and No.

'It cannot be compared to Medellin because it is countries like Colombia that produce drugs and most actions there are related to plantations, as happens in Morocco with cannabis, for example.

'We are in the area where the drugs are introduced and distributed to Europe.

'But it is of course comparable in terms of the level of the organizations involved and their economic capacity.'

However, some locals have dubbed parts of Marbella, such as Puerto Banus, the 'Wild West'.