THE prime suspect accused of gunning down a Swedish rapper in Puerto Banus has allegedly tried to break out of prison by tampering with the bars of his cell.
Prison officers at Alhaurín de la Torre jail, near Malaga, discovered one of the metal bars had been loosened and was about to fall, prompting fears the inmate was planning a jailbreak.
The suspect – a 38-year-old Swedish-Afghan national – is accused of killing 25-year-old Hamza Karimi, known in Sweden’s gangsta rap scene as Hamko, in a daylight shooting in Marbella nearly two weeks ago.
Karimi, who had recently served an attempted murder sentence in Stockholm for shooting a 14-year-old boy in the stomach, was riddled with bullets as he chatted on the phone in what police believe was part of an escalating feud linked to Nordic organised crime.
According to sources at the prison union Tu Abandono Me Puede Matar (‘Your Neglect Could Kill Me’), the inmate had been ‘looking for a way to [escape]’.
Guards intervened before the attempt went any further and immediately transferred the suspect and his cellmate to a higher-security wing reserved for inmates considered especially dangerous or with previous escape attempts.
The prisoner was being held in Module 2, normally used for low-risk offenders, since a judge ordered his provisional detention without bail earlier this month.
Officials say he had shown a ‘defiant’ attitude since arriving at the facility but had not previously caused trouble.
The Malaga branch of the prison officers’ union CSIF Prisiones praised the staff’s swift action for preventing what they called ‘an escape in the making’.
READ MORE: Revealed: The disturbing history of the Swedish rapper shot dead in Marbella in revenge killing
The organisation has demanded both inmates be moved to a more secure facility, warning of ‘growing insecurity and staff shortages’ inside the prison.
CSIF also renewed calls for more personnel, continuous training, and the use of regulated Taser devices for high-risk incidents.
Karimi’s killing in Puerto Banus drew wide attention in both Spain and Sweden, where the rapper’s violent lyrics and criminal record made him a controversial figure.
Swedish media described him as a key player in a gang conflict that has spilled into Spain’s Costa del Sol – long a magnet for Northern European organised crime.
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