Panic in Spain as Brits want to 'go home' in expat town rocked by organised crime

By Lauran O'Toole, News Reporter

Brits holidaying in the resort town have been left frightened after a brutal double murder (Image: Daily Record )

Brits holidaying in the Costa Del Sol have been left frightened after a brutal double shooting while expats had been enjoying a drink after the Champions League final on Saturday, May 31. A masked man is said to have entered Monaghans Bar, in Fuengirola, Andalusia, and killed two men in front of tourists and expats.

The victims were widely named as well-known gangsters Ross Monaghan and Eddie Lyonrs Jr. Just three days on from the horror shooting which easily could have injured employees and tourists, business has resumed to normal. The Irish bar has no cordon, no tape, no officers guarding the front door - almost as if the harrowing events were just a bad nightmare.

According to the BBC, a local cameraman said it was the same on Sunday afternoon - the day after the two Scotsmen were gunned down.

Ross Monaghan and Eddie Lyons were shot dead (Image: Daily Record)

British tourists who'd been in Monaghans before the shooting described the events as surreal as it typically is as a friendly bar.

An Englishman who was in the pub before the cold blooded killing told the BBC: "We were there an hour before and walked back later and found out what happened.

"It made us want to go home, to be quite honest. You go away on holiday and you don't expect this. Really frightening."

Another tourist, Robert Sorman from Bathgate, said: "You've heard of the Costa Del Crime but you never expect it to happen when you're here."

There are now concerns that the double murder on the Costa del Sol could be a significant escalation in a long-running gangland war.

Brits described Monaghans as a 'friendly bar' (Image: Google)

Spain's Costa del Sol is a leading tourist destination in both Andalusia and Spain, with tourism being the main industry in the region. The region welcomed a record-breaking 14.4 million holidaymakers in 2024, a 3.17% increase compared to the previous year, according to Sur in English.

In an attempt to curb the rising crime levels Ana Mula, mayor of Fuengirola, urged the country’s government to provide more resources and help improve the response to growing gang-related drug trafficking conflicts in the area.

The mayor said today: “We live in a world and at a time when crime knows no borders… And in places like the Costa del Sol, we are seeing phenomena that inevitably affect us due to their spread.”