Two Brits arrested over ‘execution-style’ Spain taking pictures that left British man paralysed
The suspected gunman was arrested as he tried to board a flight to Edinburgh from Alicante airport, while a woman was detained at the same airport as she attempted to enter Spain
Detectives found a magazine with ammunition, a balaclava and gloves used in the attempted assassination inside the burnt-out car(Image: SOLARPIX.COM)
Spanish police investigating the execution-style attempted murder of a British man, who was “left paralysed from the neck down” following a shooting on the Costa, have apprehended two individuals from the UK.
The alleged shooter was arrested while attempting to board a flight to Edinburgh at Alicante airport, and a woman was detained at the same airport as she tried to enter Spain. Both are described as suspected members of a “violent criminal group originating from the UK.”
The victim, a 27-year-old man, sustained life-altering injuries after being shot in the back outside his home in the village of Santiago de la Ribera near La Manga golf resort, in front of his girlfriend.
He narrowly escaped death thanks to police officers at the scene who used their own hands to plug the bullet wounds and prevent him from bleeding out.
Reports at the time suggested he had been left tetraplegic by the attack, carried out by a masked man who fled in a vehicle driven by an accomplice, although this has not been confirmed by the police.
A car fitting its description, containing a pistol with a silencer attached, was later discovered abandoned in a tunnel on the nearby AP-7 motorway after being set alight.
The Civil Guard announced the arrests late yesterday following a lengthy investigation into the shooting which occurred on November 18, 2024.
Detectives confirmed that in addition to the gun used in the attack, they found a magazine with ammunition, a balaclava and gloves used in the attempted assassination inside the burnt-out car.
Police in the UK have aided the Civil Guard throughout the investigation. The first arrest occurred in April and the second in May, although details about them have only just been formally disclosed by Spanish authorities.
A Civil Guard spokesman confirmed: “At an airport checkpoint in April, specialists from the Fiscal and Border Section of the Civil Guard detected one of the suspects as he was preparing to board a flight to Edinburgh from Alicante-Elche Miguel Hernandez Airport.
“The individual was arrested. Two weeks later, in the month of May, the Civil Guard detected the entry into Spain of the second suspect, a woman who was held at the same airport.”
He continued, disclosing the police operation had been given the codename Operation Esbroya 24: “The investigation points to the two people held being members of a violent criminal group originating from the United Kingdom, who travelled expressly to the Murcian coast to locate and kill the victim.”
The Brit who was shot, identified only as Aaron, was rushed to an intensive care unit at Virgen de La Arrixaca Hospital in the south-east Spanish city of Murcia after being targeted. He spent months in hospital following the incident.
The shocking attack occurred around 8.30pm on November 18, 2024. He is believed to have been shot four times including in the back.
Neighbours said they initially thought the shots that rang out were fireworks children were messing about with before the first police cars and ambulances turned up. The victim was initially reported to be Ukrainian before investigators confirmed he was a British national.
A local newspaper reported at the time the serious injuries he had sustained began to become apparent when he came round in hospital intensive care, where he was placed initially under police guard.
It was subsequently claimed the Brit injured had moved to his current home from Torrevieja a half-hour drive north after undisclosed problems with a criminal gang.
A local health worker told Spanish media shortly after the shooting: “They’re talking about a settling of scores.
“They say that boy was hiding in Santiago de la Ribera because he had problems with a mafia from Torrevieja. He was lucky none of the shots hit him in the heart.”
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