Dutch and Spanish police have arrested an international gang of hired killers implicated in at least ten murders, Dutch and Spanish media report.

Four of the six men were arrested in Spain where, Spanish media say, they had been planning another attack. A semi-automatic gun with a silencer was found in the boot of the car they were travelling in. Two other men were apprehended by the Amsterdam police in the Netherlands.

The gang, which police described as ‘the most active in Europe’ and which operated from the Netherlands, was responsible for at least ten killings, one of which took place in Marbella on Spain’s southern coast.

In January 2019 a businessman was shot at point blank in his car in front of his house in Marbella by masked men. This prompted the year long investigation which resulted in the arrests.

The gang worked to order for different criminal groups, usually to settle scores between the groups as a result of rip deals and power struggles, Spanish police said.