Walter Finch
A DANISH man was shot twice in his van by after gangsters disguised as Guardia Civil officers pulled him over in a quiet town just west of Malaga.
Criminals even returned in the middle of the night to burn the vehicle and destroy evidence after police were forced to store it in a supermarket car park.
The victim, described as a tall, heavily tattooed Nordic man over 1.9 metres tall (6ft 5) was driving his white van on the A-404 near the El Encuentro roundabout in Alhaurin de la Torre, Malaga on Monday night.
A luxury Maserati Levante fitted with fake blue police lights then appeared behind him and obliged him to pull over, Spanish daily Malaga Hoy reports.
Two criminals posing as Guardia Civil officers approached the Dane’s vehicle wearing official-looking police vests.
When the man realised he was being robbed, he immediately put up a fight.
One of the fake officers pulled out what investigators believe was a .22 calibre pistol and opened fire, shooting the victim in the face.
The bullet passed through part of his cheekbone before the gunman fired again, hitting him in the side.
An ambulance rushed the wounded Dane to hospital while the attackers fled in their luxury car.
The drama unfolded just after 9pm when a female witness called police after watching the terrifying scene unfold.
During the violent struggle, one of the criminals lost a shoe while another dropped a glove and mobile phone – potentially crucial evidence for investigators who suspect this may have been a settling of scores rather than a random robbery.
But the case took another dramatic turn when the evidence was compromised due to a bureaucratic blunder.
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Alhaurin de la Torre has no municipal vehicle depot for cars involved in criminal investigations, and the local police parking area is currently closed for roadworks.
With nowhere else to store the victim’s van, Guardia Civil officers were forced to park it in a Lidl supermarket car park, securing it only with police tape.
The makeshift storage proved disastrous.
Around 4am on Tuesday, two men in a high-end vehicle broke into the car park, smashed the van’s windows, doused it with petrol and set it ablaze – apparently to destroy evidence.
Hours later, investigators discovered what appeared to be the attackers’ Maserati also burnt out in the Montes de Malaga hills, suggesting a coordinated effort to eliminate all traces of the crime.
The investigation remains ongoing with no arrests made yet, though police are examining the evidence left behind during the botched robbery attempt.
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Unbelievable. This puts a whole new face on organised crime. Public need to know if the uniform of the Guardia Civil hides a criminal. A huge challenge.