Panic in Spain as seaside town loved by tourists hit by crimewave

By Conor Wilson, News Reporter

The town has seen a serious rise in serious crime (Image: Getty)

A Spanish holiday hotspot has seen crime rise significantly in the first half of 2025. Estepona, an area considered one of the quietest on the Costa del Sol, has seen a sharp rise in conventional crime and sexual violence, despite surrounding areas seeing a reduction.

A Balance de Criminalidad report produced by the Ministry of Interior shows that the town recorded 2,783 offences between January and June. Conventional crime has risen by 23% but it is a sharp rise in sexual offences that are likely to cause authorities the most concern. Overall cases of sexual assault have risen by 14.3% but assaults involving penetration are up a shocking 133%, more than doubling from the previous year.

Estepona has seen a shocking rise in organised crime (Image: Getty)

Vehicle theft and drug trafficking have risen by 69% and 30% respectively with area recently finding itself at the heart of violence committed by organised crime groups.

In February this year, three British men were arrested over an alleged kidnap plot involving a prominent cryptocurrency broker in Estepona. 

Last August, a 36-year-old Serbian man was shot several times in the back during an alcohol and drug-fuelled house party in the town, prompting an international manhunt.

The violence prompted politicians to blast a “serious security deficit” caused by a drastic reduction to police numbers.

The force number 190 in 2011 but has shrunk drastically in the years since, with around 120 officers currently serving, despite the town’s population rising from 64,000 to 79,000.

Nearby areas such as Malaga have seen a reduction in crime (Image: Getty)

The eye-catching rise in crime is an anomaly in the area which has seen crime fall in other parts.

In Malaga, burglaries are down by 20%, whilst thefts have fallen by nearly 6%.

However, serious crimes are on the rise, with attempted homicides nearly doubling, rising from eight to 14.

Marbella by contrast has seen a reduction in sexual assault, falling by 11.8% whilst offences involving penetration have reduced by nearly a third.

A reduction could be attributed at least in part to an increase in security measures launched by Mayor Angeles Muñoz following several high-profile organised crime incidents.

In the last year, 360 surveillance cameras have been introduced to cover Marbella’s streets whilst police officers are trialling body cameras which live stream recordings back to a centralised command post.