One of the three Brits slaughtered recently was found washed up on a Spanish beach wrapped in clingfilm and with an anchor tied to his neck.

DANNY SMITH was basking in the Spanish evening sun and downing beers outside a bar near Marbella, a known bolthole for ex-pat criminals evading UK authorities. Laughing with pals and nodding to the gentle house music, he didn't notice two men pull up on a motorbike wearing full-face helmets with blacked-out visors.

The passenger calmly pulled a gun from his belt, aimed at Smith and unloaded six rounds into his face.

Killed ... Danny Smith

Three of them hit their target, killing Smith and spattering blood across petrified drinkers diving for cover at The Lounge bar.

The assassins sped off in a cloud of dust. One man is now in custody.

Smith, 24, was wanted by British authorities for an attempted murder in Essex in 2007.

He had been successfully lying low in Spain, working as a builder by day and drinking with fellow ex-pat criminals by night.

In the end it wasn't the law that caught up with him.

This sounds like a plot straight out of gangster movies such as Sexy Beast or The Business, but this gangland assassination took place earlier this month in the Spanish town of Riviera, a resort which attracts families and holidaymakers, but also a far more sinister clientele.

Anchor

Smith is the THIRD Brit to be murdered on the Costa del Sol within just seven weeks - sobering proof that the Costa del Crime is still very much alive.

Scene of shooting ... The Lounge in Marbella

For a while it appeared problems had died down in Spain, as British fugitives began being picked up in places such as Amsterdam and Eastern Europe.

But now, as Spain emerges as a gateway into Europe for cocaine and cannabis shipped from West Africa, UK criminals are being lured to the nightlife-filled Costa del Sol in greater numbers than ever - and they are going to war over territory.

Since 2007, rival factions have been fighting to get control of the multi-billion-pound smuggling operation.

Life is cheap, and the stakes are much higher than on home soil. Gangs driven by a lust for money and notoriety are killing rivals over nothing more than arguments.

One of the three Brits slaughtered recently was found washed up on a Spanish beach wrapped in clingfilm and with an anchor tied to his neck.

Sources say he had "upset the wrong people".

Spanish authorities are yet to release his name.

Gunned down ... Sun's Nick shows bullethole in wall where Danny Smith was shot

The other, Paul Feathers, 32, was tortured in front of his girlfriend in his Benalmadena apartment. He had his ear hacked off and nose slashed and was then stabbed to death.

He is said to have messed up a heist by being caught by police changing the number plates on his car.

On the evening Danny Smith was shot he had argued with some Irishmen in the Lounge bar. As they left, one of them was heard to tell him: "I'll be back for you."

While The Sun was in Spain the brother of the gunman is said to have visited The Lounge bar and threatened to kill anyone who gives evidence.

When we approached staff and holidaymakers in Riviera we were told only one thing: "It would be best if you leave extremely quickly and never come back."

Outside The Lounge bunches of flowers flutter in the Mediterranean breeze in tribute to "Tall Danny".

A spokesman for Spain's Civil Guard said the killing had "the hallmarks of a gangland settling of scores".

Yet while authorities voice concern over the return of the Costa del Crime, those connected to the ex-pat underworld say it never went away.

Disley land ... 'King of Marbella' John with girlfriend Lucy Hesketh

John Disley, 43, is a Bolton-born businessman who has been travelling to Spain for 14 years.

Dubbed the "King of Marbella", he knows everyone and understands the area better than anyone.

Worth half a billion Pounds in property and other business interests, Disley built his empire by running security on the doors of nightclubs in Manchester. He spends his time in Marbella on his #2million yacht with girlfriend Lucy Hesketh, 19.

Disley is liked by everyone in the area and invited The Sun to a meeting on his yacht, where he explained: "This place makes perfect sense for British criminals on the run.

"The international language of anything is English, including crime. Lads can come out here with no need to learn Spanish, the full English breakfast is on every corner, the sun's shining and there's money to be made.

"It's a dangerous life they lead and most don't survive. I always say - first you're in a Cortina, then you're in a BMW, then you're in jail.

"They recently introduced a 500 Euro note out here.

Investigation ... Sun man Nick Francis in Marbella

"Criminals like to deal in this currency as they can hide their cash easier. You can fit a few million in cash in a shoe box with notes that big." Marbella and neighbouring Puerto Banus reek of money.

Brash Ferraris line the harbour and bars with names such as Sinatra and Linekers - owned by Wayne Lineker, brother of ex-footie star Gary - do a roaring trade with swarms of ex-pats and British tourists.

The Sun was introduced to a former UK-based gangster dubbed the "Mad Gipsy King", who now runs the doors on the Costa del Sol. He met us at the very spot where Smith was shot. Bullet holes were still in the wall.

Our contact refused to reveal his real name or be pictured, but he told us: "A lot of drugs come through Spain, especially cocaine and weed.

"The shipments leave south America then dock in Africa, where the governments are corrupt so turn a blind eye to their illegal cargos.

"The closest part of Europe to Africa is Spain. Kilos of coke are brought in by speedboats. Once the drugs are on the mainland it's easy to distribute them. The coke that ends up in the UK almost always comes through Spain.

"And where you've got drugs, you've got gangs. And where you've got gangs, you've got bloodshed. This has been going on for years.

"Now you have a few main gangs all fighting for control - Mancs, Scousers, Cockneys and the Irish.

"The Irish are a relatively new addition. Since the days of the IRA there has been pressure on Irish authorities to start bringing their big criminals to justice, so suddenly major players are bolting to the Costa del Sol.

"The body count is racking up rapidly since the four groups started going to war. These lads are ruthless.

"They think nothing of torture, assassinations, even kidnapping people's kids.

"It costs you about 500 quid, maximum, to have someone killed out here."

Everywhere you go in Marbella you hear Liverpudlian accents, and authorities reckon they are the main British force out here.

Map ... Marbella on the 'Costa del Crime' in Spain

They are the first British outfit to strike a deal with Mexican drug lords described by SOCA - the Serious Organised Crime Agency - as the world's most violent and richest cocaine organisation.

Furious

Liverpool gangsters have opened up a gateway to Europe, allowing cocaine-importing Mexicans to access their well- established distribution networks.

The "exclusivity deal" was struck by senior negotiators from each side in the nightclubs, hotels and boats of Marbella.

But it has sparked furious battles as the Manchester, London and Irish firms all compete for a piece of the action.

One spat between the Irish and Scouse gangs took place in broad daylight in the Nikki Beach bar in Marbella.

Crimestoppers recently issued a list of 50 wanted Brits thought to be on the run in Spain. After huge efforts in manpower and cash, British and Spanish authorities have arrested 34 of them.

Those still on the run include James Tomkins, wanted in connection with the murder of Rocky Dawson, 24.

Sun story ... Danny's murder

He was shot from behind and killed as he belted his two kids, then aged just two and six, into the back seat of his car in Romford, Essex, in May 2006.

Danny Smith's execution - along with the others - is proof the Costa Del Crime is still a bolthole for the UK's most dangerous and looks set to become even more established as a hub for international drug smuggling, headed by British gangs.

As the Mad Gipsy King summed it up: "Think of the Costa del Sol as a slice of Britain abroad - but the very worst part of Britain with the very worst people.

"It doesn't take much to end up being thrown overboard in the bay with a car wheel tied around your neck."

n.francis@the-sun.co.uk