'Man shot dead in Estepona was not Belgian but Serbian criminal'
August 18, 2024

The 36-year-old man who was shot dead at a party in the Spanish resort of Estepona on Monday morning was not Belgian but a Serbian. The victim had a forged Belgian identity card with him. He is said to have played an important role in cocaine smuggling.

Shot in the back
At around 08:55 on Monday morning, Spanish police were alerted to a shooting at a villa party in Estepona, where a man had been shot. Officers arrived to find that the victim was a 34-year-old Belgian who had suffered at least one gunshot wound to the back and had died. Two other people were slightly injured but did not require hospital treatment.

Cocaine dealer
The Serbian newspaper Blic writes that it has now been proven that the victim was not a 34-year-old Belgian, but a 36-year-old Serbian. It would be cocaine dealer SM from Belgrade. He had a forged Belgian identity card in his pocket. A private party had been held in the villa where the man was shot in the back from behind on the night of Sunday to Monday.

Arrest warrant
Interpol Belgrade had issued an international arrest warrant for the Serb, alleging he was a member of an organized criminal group involved in drug production and trafficking. Information hacked through Sky ECC allegedly revealed that the fugitive SM was involved in loading cocaine onto ships, removing it from European ports and distributing it.

There is no known motive for the fatal shooting. The Spanish national police are investigating the case. No arrests have been made.