COPS are on the hunt for a gangster over the murder of two Brits found dead in a burned-out car in Sweden.
Children’s football coach Juan Cifuentes, 33, and Farooq Abdulrazak, 27, had gone missing while on a business trip to Denmark and Sweden in July.
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The pair’s car was discovered in Malmo, and Swedish media reported that at least one of the deceased was shot before the vehicle was set on fire.
Swedish prosecutors claimed in August they had identified the remains as those of the two men.
Local cops are now on the hunt for a 25-year-old mobster on suspicion of murdering the two Brits.
According to Swedish publication Sydsvenskan, the man is a known gang member who is thought to have escaped overseas.
An international manhunt is now underway to find him.
UK cops, meanwhile, previously said to be facing a “complex” investigation into what became known as the “Malmo murders”.
Met Police’s detective chief inspector Sarah Lee said last month: “We are supporting our colleagues in Sweden as they investigate this incredibly tragic and complex incident.
“Juan and Farooq’s families are suffering profoundly and we sincerely hope they are provided with much needed answers to the many questions they have about what happened to their loved ones.
“Police in Sweden continue to follow a number of lines of enquiry, we understand that no arrests have been made at this time.
“If you have information that can help, please contact us via 101, or anonymously via Crimestoppers.”
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The distraught families of Juan and Farooq issued a joint statement describing the two as “pillars” in their communities who will be missed.
The Met issued a statement on their behalf, which read in part: “We are sincerely devastated, broken in many ways words cannot describe.
“We have lost two beautiful innocent hardworking souls.
“Our loss has not only shattered our family and friends but has also impacted our local community deeply.”
In July, two bodies were found shot dead in a burnt out car on an industrial estate in the Swedish city of Malmo.
Cops were working on the theory that they were the bodies of Juan and Farooq, with their families fearing the worst.
Juan and Farooq were previously captured on CCTV renting a motor at Copenhagen Kastrup airport, before heading over the border into Sweden.
Just hours after they were due home at 6pm, news reports from Sweden revealed two bodies had been discovered on a dirt road and cops launched a double-murder probe.
While police haven’t been able to formally identify the bodies, which are now with forensic examiners, the families of the two missing men fear the worst.
Reports then claimed there had been a third mystery person who was filmed in the rental car with the two British men.
He was apparently in close contact with the Brit who rented the car, Aftonbladet reports.
Cops described the motor as a black Toyota Rav 4 – captured on CCTV the day they died with three people inside – according to Swedish outlet Sydsvenskan.
The Sun learned Juan and Farooq are both from North London and were close friends who ran a travel agency together.
The pair shared photos of them together on foreign trips across social media.
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.
