Home World A British tourist is murdered using a martial arts technique in a nightclub in Gran Canaria

A British tourist is murdered using a martial arts technique in a nightclub in Gran Canaria

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General view of Playa del Inglés in Gran Canaria, near where a dead man was found
  • Police saw evidence showing a club employee strangling the victim.

Police have arrested a man they believe killed a British tourist using a martial arts chokehold near a nightclub in Gran Canaria.

The 47-year-old victim was initially thought to have died of a heart attack after taking drugs.

But detectives revealed today that the incident was being treated as a homicide when they arrested a 32-year-old suspect on July 29 on suspicion of killing him with a martial arts strangulation technique known as Mata leao.

The incident occurred at a nightclub called Discoteca Chic in the tourist resort of Playa del Inglés in southern Gran Canaria in the early hours of July 27, according to well-placed sources.

A National Police spokesman in San Bartolome de Tirajana said they had reviewed CCTV evidence which pointed to a club employee grabbing the victim by the neck before he fell to the ground, “immobilised”.

General view of Playa del Inglés in Gran Canaria, near where a dead man was found

A busy street in Maspalomas, Playa del Inglés in 2023. Police saw footage showing an employee strangling a man outside a club in the area, they said.

A busy street in Maspalomas, Playa del Inglés in 2023. Police saw footage showing an employee strangling a man outside a club in the area, they said.

Police found the victim “lying lifeless on the ground” near an unidentified nightclub in Playa del Inglés in the early hours of July 27.

Several police units responded to the call along with other emergency services.

“Once there, they confirmed the death of the man, an English tourist, and cordoned off the area,” reads a statement.

Investigators spoke to witnesses and staff, as well as friends and the victim’s partner.

‘Initial information indicated that the deceased had suffered a heart attack, as his friends had said he had consumed drugs that night.

‘However, marks were observed on her neck and her body was transported to the island’s Institute of Forensic Medicine for further analysis.

Several witnesses told police they saw one of the staff members use a chokehold known as a Killa Leao because the British man he performed it on was so agitated.

‘He collapsed to the ground after being immobilized.’

Police have since analysed CCTV footage and obtained evidence they say shows an employee of the nightclub “grabbing the victim by the neck before he fell to the ground”.

‘The forensic report confirmed that the cause of death was asphyxiation.

‘Given the risk that the alleged murderer might escape, a search operation was launched and once the suspect was located he was immediately arrested.

“He was later sent to a local jail by order of an investigating judge.”

An investigation into the incident is currently underway.

The club will not reopen until Saturday and it was not possible to contact anyone who was there today.

(tags to translate)dailymail

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