MADRID - With its sun-drenched beaches and vibrant nightlife, Spain has long been a top destination -- not just for tourists, but also for criminals looking to vanish.
From drug traffickers to sex offenders and cybercriminals, fugitives from around the globe flock to Spain's coastal havens.
That gamble rarely pays off: Police stress that their chances of evading justice are slim.
"We're arresting new people every day," said Fernando Gonzalez, the head of an elite Spanish police unit set up in 2004 to hunt down criminals on the run.
"Spain remains a very attractive place for traffickers," he added.
Last year, his unit arrested 460 fugitives -- mostly foreigners -- across Spain, up from 390 in 2023.
The pace has not slowed this year. Recent high-profile arrests underscore the European country's ongoing appeal to fugitives.
"We deal with a wide range of profiles," from major criminals to petty offenders, as well as a wide range of nationalities, Gonzalez said as he scanned the latest list of arrests, which included Moroccans, French nationals and a growing number of Latin Americans.
Spain's role as a haven for those trying to evade justice is "historic", a French investigator told AFP on condition of anonymity.
"It's not just a hideout for fugitives... it's also home to career criminals who operate between Morocco, Spain and France."
Criminal defence lawyer and former extradition judge Carlos Bautista said Spain's location "at the crossroads" of Europe, the Americas and Africa makes it a natural hiding spot for runaway criminals.
Gonzalez said fugitives can often easily find "contacts who can help" them among the large community of foreigners who live in Spain.
He cited as an example the case of a German woman who was arrested in the Balearic Islands where she had lived for years without speaking Spanish.
Most fugitives are found along Spain's Mediterranean coast where expat communities are concentrated.
Malaga and Marbella on the Costa del Sol, which has long been a popular destination for British expats and tourists, are top picks for criminals on the run, said Bautista.
Laying low on the coast does not guarantee safety -- these are regions with some of the highest arrest rates.
"It's a cat-and-mouse game. But we usually find them. It just takes patience," said Gonzalez.