Irish holiday hotspot Marbella is reportedly now crawling with organised criminal gangs from across Europe, using torture and violence to protect their stakes in the profitable drugs trade.
According to Spanish Intelligence Centre for Counter Terrorism, 113 gangs from 59 different countries now operate in the province of Malaga, where Marbella is situated.
According to the Daily Mail, the multinational criminal crews each specialise in a specific dark art and "sub-contract" their services to others.
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Dutch and Belgians are thought to arrange cocaine shipments with their Colombian counterparts, Italian mafia groups transport it across Europe and Albanians and Kosovans provide the muscle.
Speaking to the El Pais, one Spanish police investigator dubbed Marbella the "United Nations" of organised crime.
Despite this cooperation, gruesome killings are still commonplace.
Recently a body was found in a Marbella lock-up with holes drilled through its toes.
"In their world that’s nothing abnormal," one cop told the Daily Mail.
Another body was found in the quiet mountain village of Villanueva del Trabuco in April. The victim was unidentifiable with their head, hands and genitals chopped off.
Last month a torture chamber was discovered in the Golden Beach holiday apartment complex, with police breaking in to find a dead man wrapped in clingfilm with brutal injuries.
On Monday (July 18) tourists found themselves in the firing line after a shooting and stabbing incident at Opium Beach Club.
The skirmish broke out between two groups - one thought to be British and the other Dutch-North African - sitting on £4,260 VIP tables while South African DJ Black Coffee was playing.
Three revellers were shot, including a 26-year-old Moroccan woman who remains in a "serious" condition. A fourth person - a 32-year-old Irishman - was also put in intensive care but has now been arrested, suspected of being involved.
A 40-year-old Dutch-North African was filmed pulling a gun from his trousers and may face murder charges, along with another man he was there with.
Although it isn't clear what caused the fight - with theories ranging from a spat over a girl to stolen vodka - Marbella lawyer Antonio Flores reckons it'll likely turn out to be connected to a gangland feud.
"There have been shootings before but when innocent people are getting caught up, it becomes worrying," he told the Daily Mail.
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