In the late 1970s a gangster's paradise was created in the heart of Europe. A diplomatic breakdown between Britain and Spain over Gibraltar led to the extradition treaty between the two countries being cancelled. British criminals were able to join the swelling tide of holiday makers heading for the Spanish sunshine.

For five years a trickle of criminals on the run lived anonymously in Spain but in 1983 the fallout from a major armed robbery in London turned the Costa del Sol into the Costa del Crime.

At £6 million, the Security Express robbery was the biggest cash haul in British history and the five suspects, the 'Famous Five', became Britain's best known runaways. When they appeared on the Costa living lives of luxury in the sun, the trend of ex-pat criminals living in Spain was blown wide open. Security Express suspects Freddie Foreman and Ronnie Knight became unlikely celebrities in a tabloid tale that would fascinate the public and frustrate the authorities for the next decade. The British police knew who they were and where they were, but were powerless to apprehend them or bring them home.

Behind the popular image of villains on the run having fun in the sun lay a darker truth to the Costa del Crime. British criminals in Spain quickly muscled in on the poorly organised drug routes from Morocco through Spain to Britain. This small-scale, hippy business was swiftly taken over by organised ex-pat criminals. The violence associated with fast drug money escalated as quickly as the shipments.

This film documents the high life of the ex-pat cons and reveals the serious consequences of this concentration of criminality. The programme includes interviews with members of the Flying Squad as well as drug trafficker Howard Marks and Freddie Foreman and Ronnie Knight, who were both implicated in the Security Express robbery.

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