Walter Finch
A 43-year-old British man has been arrested in the United Arab Emirates on suspicion of committing a murder in a squatted luxury villa in Estepona.
He fled Spain after allegedly shooting a 36-year-old Serbian man in the back at 8.45am after a night of heavy partying on August 12.
The victim, who was carrying a fake Belgian passport, was identified as a fugitive from Serbian justice with links to Balkan criminal organisations.
The suspect, who has been linked to an attempted murder in the UK, was tracked down to a country, the UAE, notorious for offering refuge to mafia figures including the senior leaders of the notorious Kinahan cartel.
READ MORE: Victim of deadly shooting in gated Estepona community was a 34-year-old man from Belgium
Police managed to identify that most of those present had previously left a Marbella nightclub earlier in the night to carry on the booze-and-drug-fuelled party at the multi-bedroom villa complete with its own pool.
The villa, just metres from the popular El Paraiso Golf Club, was long a notorious squatter hotspot.
At the time it was occupied by a Cuban man who was known to oversee illegal luxury property occupations across the Costa del Sol.
Neighbours in the swanky barrio had regularly complained of long and wild parties that continued well into the next day.
But on this occasion events took a deadly turn as a confrontation broke out between two revellers at the mansion in the much sought-after El Paraiso urbanisation.
The investigation pieced together the circumstances surrounding the murder from extensive witness interviews, scene examinations, and forensic evidence.
Witnesses suggested that heavy drug and alcohol use may have been factors leading to the violent encounter.
The British suspect, who had a prior attempted murder charge in the UK, was tracked down to the UAE after fleeing Spain.
An Estepona court issued an International Arrest Order, leading to his arrest and capture in a country notorious for hosting gangsters.
He is now in UAE custody, pending extradition to face charges in Spain.
The Cuban man was expelled from Spain on October 31 and deported via Madrid-Barajas Airport, but he successfully applied for asylum in the Czech Republic and avoided deportation to Cuba.
He had been previously linked to public disorder and high-end property occupations on the Costa del Sol.
