The husband of a British woman found dead on a Marbella beach was allegedly exporting cannabis e-cigarettes from his Spanish hideaway, police say.

Investigators believe that Paul Muldoon, 33, who is on the run from authorities in Britain accused of fraud, was selling the cigarettes to cannabis clubs.

Muldoon was discovered to be on the run from authorities in Britain after wife Rebecca, of Southend, disappeared on January 2.

Her body washed up on a beach near their penthouse apartment in the Costa del Sol on Sunday.

Her husband had been arrested on suspicion of assaulting her shortly before she vanished- but is not being linked to her death which is not regarded as suspicious.

However her disappearance led to the discovery he was on the run from authorities in the UK over a six-figure 'boiler room'-style fraud.

He is suspected of conning OAPS into investing in dodgy 'green energy bundles.'

One customer, an 83-year-old widow, claimed she handed over £235,000 for precious metals, diamond and even plots of land in Brazil.

He appeared in court on Wednesday for an extradition hearing where he agreed to be sent back to Britain.

He also faced questioning over the 425 e-cigarettes found at an office he rented in Marbella.

Spanish police confirmed he faced additional drugs charges in a statement issued after he was hauled to court.

They said the cigarettes seized were filled with 'weed oil' containing THC, the active ingredient in marijuana, and had been imported from the States.

A spokesman for Spain's National Police confirmed: "On Monday, Spanish officers arrested a 33-year-old British man on a European Arrest Warrant issued the same day for economic and financial crimes.

"He was also arrested for a drugs offence committed in Spain after 425 e-cigarettes used to vaporise cannabis were found in an office he had rented in Marbella.

"The cigarettes were of three different types and had a high quantity of THC.

"They had been manufactured in California and imported into Spain without any sanitary control.

"Our investigations have led us to believe that the cigarettes were ready to be sent and sold to cannabis clubs and exported to England."

Muldoon went on the run to Ireland with Rebecca and her children aged 11 and eight before moving to LA where they married, then left the States for Spain last year.

He vanished after being initially arrested and interviewed by Surrey Police in 2013.

He was held the day before Rebecca went missing on suspicion of domestic violence but released without charge when she failed to show in court on January 3 to give evidence against him.

Spanish detectives subsequently discovered he was wanted by Surrey Police and rearrested him on Monday evening on an European Arrest Warrant issued the same day which replaced an outstanding UK-only arrest warrant.

Rebecca is known to have been deeply unhappy with Muldoon and had tried to leave him last year. She was described as 'vulnerable' after her disappearance.

Rebecca's two children from a previous relationship are now being cared for in the UK by her mum.