A 27-YEAR-OLD Irishman was arrested by Spanish police last night in connection with the shooting dead of a British criminal at a pub in the south of the country at the weekend.
The Spanish authorities believe the shooting is connected to a row at a bar near Mijas on the Costa del Sol.
The victim was shot dead after a row between a man and a number of Englishmen who had asked him to leave the premises when he made advances at a young woman.
He is believed to have told the men he would return to the premises, urging them to wait for him. Some minutes later, two men pulled up outside the pub on a motorbike. The pillion passenger dismounted and shot dead one of the Englishmen. He then escaped on the motorbike.
The incident occurred at The Lounge Bar in Riviera del Sol, near Mijas, just after 10pm on Saturday.
It is understood the victim, Daniel Smith (24), from Essex, sustained three head wounds. The killer used a handgun.
Smith was himself on the run from the UK authorities. He was wanted in connection with the attempted murder of a man in a shooting in Essex in 2007.
The man who was arrested yesterday is well-known in the area where the killing took place, and is believed to have been living locally.
According to sources, the Irish suspect is from west Dublin.