Man arrested over death of bouncer was held over 'contract killing'

British man held by police over the death of a bouncer at TOWIE star’s Spanish restaurant was arrested three months ago over ‘contract hit’ attempt on Irishman’s life

• Man, 32, was one of six Britons detained over attempted murders of Irishman
• The Briton is now at the centre of manslaughter probe over death of Jose Pardo 

The British man held by Spanish police over the death of a bouncer at former TOWIE star Elliott Wright’s Costa del Sol restaurant was arrested three months ago over the alleged contract killer shooting of an Irishman last year, it has emerged.

The unnamed 32-year-old was one of six Britons detained at the start of February when he was identified by police as an alleged member of a criminal gang linked to the attempted murders of three Irishmen at a lake near Marbella.

Cops branded the Brits ‘extremely violent’ at the time in an official statement and claimed they had relocated to the Costa del Sol to ‘settle scores.’

Police insiders said the suspect who is now at the centre of a manslaughter probe over the weekend death of Jose Rafael Pisano Pardo, a doorman at Mr Wright’s Olivia’s La Cala restaurant, pointed a gun at officers when they raided his home to arrest him on Tuesday. 

He put the weapon down after hearing officers shout ‘Police’ as they broke down his front door.

Spanish police confirmed overnight: ‘The man arrested by the Civil Guard following the death of the doorman is the same person arrested by National Police in February as part of the operation codenamed Operation Tortuga.’

Police officers lead the unidentified man away in cuffs following his arrest in Marbella on Tuesday

Father-of-two Jose Rafael Pisano Pardo, 55, (pictured) died in hospital on Sunday evening after suffering life-threatening injuries when he intervened in a fight at Olivia’s La Cala restaurant in Marbella

Elliott Wright shared a heartfelt tribute to his late employee on social media. The former TOWIE star is pictured at Olivia’s La Cala

Mr Pardo, 55, died in a Malaga hospital on Sunday after suffering life-threatening injuries when he intervened in a brawl at Olivia’s La Cala restaurant (pictured) in Marbella

He was bailed pending an ongoing probe following his arrest in February, despite the serious accusations made against him, and court officials confirmed on Thursday he was also provisionally released after appearing before a judge following his arrest over Mr Pardo’s death.

Mr Pardo, 55, died in a Malaga hospital on Sunday after suffering life-threatening injuries when he intervened in a brawl at Olivia’s La Cala restaurant in Marbella. 

The married father-of-two is thought to have fallen to the ground during attempts to eject the suspect from the restaurant after a fight broke out.

The suspect, who was arrested on Tuesday, was detained in February over the attempted murder of three Irishmen. 

The Irishmen targeted at Turtle Lake near Marbella on September 30 last year were fishing when a hit team arrived to kill them.

A 24-year-old man shot in the leg has been described as a pal of a Dublin gang boss known as Mr Flashy.

The victim was taken to hospital seriously injured with kidney damage but survived. The other two targets cheated death and were unharmed.

Police released video footage of the moment they moved in with a battering ram while shouting ‘Policia, Policia, On the Floor’ to handcuff the six suspects in February during pre-dawn raids they carried out using sniffer dogs to help them gather evidence.

A spokesman for Spain’s National Police said after the six arrests, which took place on February 1: ‘National Police officers have smashed a criminal gang specialising in ‘settling scores’ and have arrested six alleged members of the organisation.

‘With these arrests we consider the police investigation into an attempted assassination attempt last September in Marbella is now closed.

‘Investigators have carried out raids in Marbella, Estepona, Fuengirola and Coin and have seized four pistols, a revolver, a weapon of war, several machetes, an axe, a bullet-proof vest, Balaclavas, handcuffs and ammunition amongst other things.

‘The attempted assassination took place at a lake called Turtle Lake on September 20 last year while three men were fishing and were attacked with weapons by a gang of men who shot at their vital organs with the intention of killing them.

‘One of them was hit and needed medical attention.’

Pictured: The British man arrested over the death of Mr Pardo is led away by police in Marbella

Unconfirmed local reports have pointed to the doorman (pictured) receiving a punch as he tried to intervene in the fight which led to him hitting his head on the corner of a table as he fell and lost his balance

Jessie J is pictured with Mr Wright and his wife Sadie Stuart at the Olivia’s La Cala restaurant

The spokesman added: ‘The gang’s modus operandi was to choose their victim and rely on equipment that enabled them to know where they were and decide on the best time to act with total impunity.

‘They used a stolen car with false number plates to drive to the area where they plan to end their targets’ lives.

‘The car they allegedly used and the places where they stored their weapons have been located.

‘All the weapons seized had ammunition in them and were ready to be used.

‘During one of the raids, one of the suspects pointed a weapon at police and only put it down after officers fired warning shots.

‘This operation, which was codenamed Turtle, has enabled police to smash a criminal gang dedicated to contract killings.’

A judge went on to bail four of the six detainees and remand just two to a local jail, despite the serious allegations made against the men by police.

The four suspects provisionally released were ordered to surrender their passports and banned from leaving Spain and told to sign on at court twice a month.

The ongoing court probe was described at the time as an investigation into ‘crimes against people, unlawful weapons possession and drugs offences’ although the accusations each men were facing were not made clear.

Mr Pardo, 55, died at a hospital in Malaga on Sunday evening hours after being admitted to intensive care.

He had intervened to stop a fight at Olivia’s La Cala in the early hours of Sunday morning.

Police arrested the man suspected of killing him in Marbella after reportedly obtaining CCTV footage from inside Elliott’s eatery Olivia’s La Cala showing him punching the doorman as he tried to restrain him after the fight broke out.

They also released footage of the detention, carried out with the help of an elite Civil Guard unit called the GAR which traces its origins to a group initially aimed at countering terror group ETA.

Jose’s Chilean-born widow Romina Acuna told respected Malaga newspaper Sur earlier this week he had rung her half an hour before the incident to say he was worried about the number of drunken customers in the restaurant.

Widow Romina with her late husband Jose Pisani Pardo on their wedding day in Vegas

The pair had only married five months ago in a glitzy ceremony in Las Vegas and were planning to have a child and start a new life together selling sports supplements in the Canary Islands.

Romina also revealed Jose, a bodybuilder and personal trainer as well as a doorman at Elliott’s Costa eatery, had been planning to leave his job-of-two-years there after the summer.

Dad-of-three Mr Wright closed his restaurant temporarily in La Cala de Mijas on Monday for two days out of respect for the dead man.

The 43-year-old said in a subsequent Instagram post: ‘I am absolutely devastated at the loss of Jose – he was a dear friend, and colleague.

‘The entire team are grieving a wonderful human-being and I am supporting them.

‘I have known Jose for over a decade – he has been a friendly face since I moved to Spain. Over time he became a great friend and colleague.

‘This will take me a long time to get over, if ever. He was a really good guy.’

Confirming his restaurant had been vandalised on Tuesday after spray-painters daubed it with bizarre graffiti in Spanish including the words ‘Mafia’ and ‘Elliott Asesino’, English for ‘Elliott Killer’, he added: ‘Today our restaurant has been vandalised which has left us, already shocked and grieving, in total disbelief.

‘We will not let this senseless vandalism distract us.’

The same eatery was badly damaged in an arson attack two years ago. Two masked men with jerrycans filmed on CCTV breaking into the premises shortly before it went up in flames have yet to be caught.

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