Spain’s Policia Nacional arrested five men aged between 28 and 58, four Irish nationals and one Englishman, in the towns of Estepona and Benahavís in the province of Málaga.[1] Two of the detained men are described as senior associates of the Kinahan cartel, and all five remained in custody after raids targeting the gang’s day-to-day operations.[2] The arrests came in an inquiry into the disappearance of Darren Hoolahan, the brother of former Republic of Ireland international Wes Hoolahan, who has been missing from the Marbella area since early June.[2] Police believe Hoolahan was driven to a rural part of Estepona, forced into a second vehicle and taken to a house on an estate in the town, where he was allegedly held.[1] He remains missing despite searches, and police fear he has been killed and buried near where he was last seen.[3]
Officers from the Policia Nacional drugs and organised crime unit UDYCO carried out raids and searches of six residences on 27 October as part of Operation Bernabe, five in Estepona and one in Benahavís.[1] The searches were backed by the force’s tactical unit with police dogs and a helicopter.[1] Police intervened three handguns, one equipped with a silencer, and two military-grade weapons, an AK-47 and a submachine gun, in the searches.[4] The searches also yielded a machete, 37.8 kilograms of hashish, 61,520 euros in cash and eight vehicles, one of them reported stolen, along with mobile phones and two computers.[4] All five suspects face investigation for unlawful detention, possession of military-grade weapons and firearms, vehicle theft, drug trafficking and membership of a criminal organisation.[1]
The operation began after Hoolahan’s partner reported his disappearance at the Marbella police station, saying he had gone to meet an alleged friend at a café in San Pedro de Alcántara.[3] Police say the abduction was linked to a settling of scores within a well-known Irish clan, and that Hoolahan had received a warning a month earlier when vehicles he owned were set on fire outside his Marbella home.[3] Four of the five were remanded in custody without bail, while the fifth was released on bail and then taken into custody under an international arrest warrant issued by Spain’s Audiencia Nacional.[3]
