curtains at Kinahan's mansion were closed yesterday and many of the shutters drawn down.

Yesterday it emerged that Daniel, son of alleged crime boss Christy Kinahan, bought the property last autumn and spent hundreds of thousands of euro renovating it and installing banks of security cameras around the perimeter.

Neighbours told how they had grown suspicious at the level of surveillance equipment installed at the four-bedroom, two-storey property on a private beachside estate in Guadalmina, between Marbella and Estepona on the Costa del Sol.

One Spanish woman, who asked not to be named, said: "He moved in about October last year and virtually built a new house. He kept the shell of the existing property, which was only about eight or nine years old, but totally renovated it and the garden and put up loads of security cameras.

"The original house was yellow and in perfect condition, but he repainted it red ochre.

"I saw a woman going in and out of the property and heard children's voices but I never really got to know anyone there."

The woman added: "They kept themselves to themselves, although in December they plastered the house with Christmas lights.

"We knew police had raided the property but we didn't know why. We saw half-a-dozen cars parked outside on Tuesday morning at around 10.30 and men with guns on their belts milling around.

"We thought it might have something to do with the raids they've been announcing on the television in the Costa del Sol but we weren't sure.

Cameras

"The house stood out because of the amount of security cameras. We wondered why on Earth someone would have so much surveillance in an area which is already patrolled by security guards paid for by the neighbours."

The curtains at Kinahan's mansion were closed yesterday and many of the shutters drawn down.

A children's bicycle was visible in the landscaped gardens, which boast a private swimming pool.

An English-speaking woman appeared on the top balcony yesterday, but when asked about Daniel Kinahan she replied: "I don't know anything. I'm just here looking after the dogs."

It had previously been thought Kinahan had been arrested in his €800,000 flat in another nearby seafront development called Torre Bermeja.

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