Malmo cops make first arrest over mystery of two Brit pals found shot dead in burned-out car while on business trip
COPS in Malmo have made their first arrest over the mysterious deaths of two Brits gunned down in a burned-out car.
The bodies of close pals Juan Cifuentes, 33, and Farooq Abdulrazak, 27, were identified earlier this month after they went missing on a business trip to Denmark and Sweden.
A statement by Swedish prosecutors said: “The prosecutor has today arrested a person on probable cause suspected of aiding and abetting the murder of two British citizens who were found dead in a burnt-out car in Malmö on 14 July this year.
“There will now be interrogations, both with the suspect and others.”
The suspect is set to remain in custody until at least September 1.
Investigations continue in Sweden and the UK, the prosecutors added.
UK cops described the case as a “complex” investigation.
The men’s bodies were found shot dead in a burnt out car on an industrial estate in the Swedish city of Malmo last month.
Juan and Farooq were captured on CCTV hours earlier renting a car at Copenhagen Kastrup airport.
They are then said to have been heading over the border into Sweden.
Just hours after they were due home at 6pm, reports revealed the men had been discovered on a dirt road.
At least one of the men was shot before the car was set alight, Swedish authorities announced.
Cops quickly launched a double-murder probe into the case.
The latest reports from Malmo say a third man was believed to have been travelling with the two Brits.
Cops said footage of the black Toyota Rav 4 showed three people inside, according to Swedish outlet Sydsvenskan.
He was apparently in close contact with the men when they rented the car, Aftonbladet reported.
The Sun learned Juan and Farooq were both from North London and were close friends who ran a travel agency together.
The pair shared photos of them together on trips across the world to social media.
A family source told The Sun: “They are both nice, normal guys, everyone is shocked and waiting on news from Sweden.”
They said that missing Juan is a family man who coaches kids’ football in his North London community.
“He was very good at football as a kid and still plays now, he also coaches a kids’ football team.
“He’s a good guy and a hard worker. He runs a travel agency with Farooq and also works as a courier.”
Inside Malmo's crime-riddled underworld
PARTS of Sweden have become riddled with gang activity, plagued by executions, bomb attacks and child soldiers rampaging the streets.
Innocent bystanders have been gunned down in recent years as a country that was once deemed peaceful and safe becomes a terrifying gangster paradise.
Sweden has grappled with gang violence for decades but its latest latest surge has been exceptional – fuelled by notorious druglords dubbed Kurdish Fox and The Greek.
Police have been placed on standby ready to prevent brutal murders and explosions – and the country’s leaders have even geared up to deploy the military.
Human lives and family homes have fallen victim to the ongoing gang warfare, as the country chillingly reaches the highest level of children prosecuted for murder since 2019.
Much of the violence is concentrated in large cities like Stockholm, Gothenburg, Malmö and Uppsala.
Malmö has even been dubbed one of the worst cities in Northern Europe for gang crime in a tourism review.
Manne Gerell, Swedish criminologist and senior lecturer at Malmö university, previously told the Financial Times that shootings and bombings in the city are rife.
He said: “It almost appears random — it can happen to anybody, anywhere. It makes it more similar to terrorism.”
One gang member told public broadcaster SVT “If my family is in danger, everyone’s family is in danger,” as cops face a least of at least 150 homes that could be the target of shootings or bombings.