Ask any of the hen-dos or bands of lads in Benidorm where Calle Gerona, Avenida de Mallorca or Calle Cuenca are and expect a blank stare in return. Ask the same groups to point you in the direction of English Square and they’ll more than likely tell you to follow them.
Calle Gerona, Avenida de Mallorca, Calle Cuenca and English Square are the same place; much like every bar and nightclub in the area, even the names of the roads have been anglicised.
For lovers of Benidorm’s nightlife, English Square has everything you could possibly want: bright lights, loud music, cheap drinks and… drugs?
It would be perhaps naive to expect the resort’s infamous nightspots to be free of illegal substances.
However, the openness of the drug trade in English Square, and the sheer number of dealers touting for your business, really is enough to keep you up at night.
Calle Gerona, English Square’s main artery, is just under a mile long. However, on a stretch less than 85 yards I was offered cocaine by five separate dealers in the space of three minutes.
Each dealer had their own spiel that amounted to the same thing: “I’ll flog you as much ‘Charlie’ as you can afford, I’ll even let you try it first.”
“What I have is €50 for one bag,” one dealer pitched. “And if you want more I have an offer: if you buy four bags I give you one for free, I give you one more, I give you five.”
Some dealers pushed weed, others ecstasy pills, another even said he’d sell me viagra. But all of them sold cocaine and marketed it in their opening offer.
Such was the astonishing number of dealers, it was reasonable to assume they were doing a roaring trade.
Benidorm may be known for debauched nightlife, but its status as a cocaine hotspot is far less well-established.
In 2019, a 38-year-old Sheffield man, Lee Okrasa, was found by a UK pathologist to have died in the famous seaside resort due to cocaine use.
Given the scale of the illegal drug trade that dominates English Square, it’s surprising that there haven’t been more tragedies.
