The Mayor of Marbella’s Family Have Been Accused of Being Gangsters

The husband and stepson of the mayor of the Spanish resort of Marbella have been charged with being in an international organised crime group involved in drug trafficking and money laundering.

Lars Gunnar Broberg, the husband of the popular resort’s mayor Maria Angeles Munoz was accused by the Spanish High Court of helping the gang to launder money from the trafficking of large amounts of cannabis from Spain to Sweden and other parts of northern Europe, through a company called Altario Investment SL. 

Broberg, a well-off 80-year-old businessman from Sweden who earned his money in construction, was arrested last year alongside a police officer working as Munoz’s bodyguard, and later released. Shortly after the indictment was revealed, he was deemed unfit for trial due to his deteriorating health. 

His son, Joakim Broberg is accused of running the organisation. Both father and son deny the charges and there is no suggestion that Munoz is connected to any wrongdoing.

According to an indictment seen by Spanish newspaper El Diario, Broberg Jnr sits at the head of a “criminal organisation led by citizens of Swedish nationality settled in Spain with members of German and Polish nationality… a complex structure in which relationships of hierarchy and discipline can be recognised, in which Joakim Broberg acts as boss.”

The indictment said the organisation was involved in "drug trafficking, mainly hashish and marijuana, which they export in large quantities from Spain to the Nordic countries, mainly Sweden… with the aim of obtaining large and rapid profits, carrying out money laundering and concealment activities through the use of third countries.”

Broberg Jnr was arrested in Brazil before being extradited to Spain in December. El Diario said that in a phone conversation intercepted by police he was caught boasting to another defendant about the influence their gang had on legitimate business in the region. “We have Marbella. We have Estepona. We have it all. The city is ours. Basically, we have all of fucking Andalusia.”

In total, around 70 people have been arrested so far as part of the joint investigation into the gang, which is being carried out by Swedish and Spanish police.  

Last week Munoz, a senator in the right wing Popular Party, warned the media that she would “see some media outlets in court” if she was linked to the case involving her husband and stepson.

Marbella, a popular tourist destination on Spain’s Costa del Sol coast, is known for its flashy marina packed with expensive yachts. But it is also a notorious gathering spot for gangsters from across the continent, such as the Kinahans and high end criminals from the UK, Poland, Italy, Russia and Sweden. Marbella has become a hotspot for gangland violence and executions linked to the underworld. 

Earlier this year VICE World News revealed that the Swedish authorities had been dealing with a wave of underworld violence linked to organised crime gangs involved in drug smuggling.