Malaga drug trap murder: Seventh suspect arrested in Valencia one year later

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Police intercept 'Operation Trampa' fugitive using false identities following deadly shootout over fake cocaine and counterfeit cash

Juan Cano

Málaga

Friday, 27 February 2026, 12:43

Police have arrested a seventh suspect in operation 'Trampa', which has been investigating a deadly fake-drug sale that took place in a flat in Malaga city on 1 March 2025.

The arrest happened in Valencia on 24 February this year, when the police intercepted an Audi A4 identified in a robbery with violence in Madrid. During the search of the car, they found that the suspect had been using several false identities.

With the previous six arrests, the police have practically closed the case. A total of eight people had met for the drug sale and one of them is dead.

The investigation started after the police went to the crime scene in March last year, after receiving alerts about a shooting inside a flat in the Palma-Palmilla district.

They found the body of a 39-year-old man on the fourth floor. He had collapsed there, but the trail of blood led to the 12th floor, where the shooting had taken place.

Later that day, the police located the inhabitant of the flat, who had gone to the hospital due to a gunshot wound.

According to the investigation, the shooting started when the suspects - some of them drug suppliers, the others buyers and intermediaries - realised that each side had brought either fake cocaine or fake cash.