A Belgian teenager accused of spraying an innocent young man with bullets in a contract killing gone wrong on the Costa del Sol has been arrested for the second time.
The alleged hitman, named only as Shah C., now 19, is accused of shooting dead a 25-year-old Dutch man in Fuengirola on December 7, 2024.
The suspect was just 17 years old at the time of the killing and is alleged to have been recruited by gangland figures in his own country.
According to prosecutors in Belgium, however, the Dutch victim, Jasin Ajar, was not the person he had been hired to kill.
The youngster was shot multiple times by a semi-automatic weapon while working at a cannabis club in Fuengirola.
Shah C. was initially arrested in Ghent, Belgium, in June 2025 under a European Arrest Warrant.
Two months later he was transferred to Spain, where he was placed in a juvenile detention centre because he had been a minor when the alleged crime was committed.
However, in a remarkable twist, he was released in May this year after spending the maximum legal period of nine months in detention without his trial beginning or further precautionary measures being requested.
He subsequently disappeared, sparking fury among Belgian and Dutch authorities.
Police in the Netherlands then issued a fresh European Arrest Warrant and the teenager was tracked down and arrested for a second time in Laarne, northern Belgium, on June 25 this year.
He has since been transferred to the Netherlands, where he is now expected to face justice.
Dutch authorities have reached an agreement with the juvenile court in Malaga to take over the case, given that the murder victim was a Dutch national.
The alleged gunman is not the only person facing prosecution over the killing.
Six other suspects accused of participating in the organisation of the murder are also expected to stand trial in the Netherlands.
A seventh suspect died during an exchange of gunfire with Dutch police during the arrests, according to Belgian media reports.
Victim was on a gap year
Police believe Shah C waited outside a cannabis club wearing a hood and face covering before opening fire with a semi-automatic weapon.
Investigators say he fired up to 18 shots, but killed the wrong man.
Jasin had reportedly moved to Malaga for a gap year and was working at the cannabis club at the time of the attack.
The investigation was led by the Policia Nacional Udyco unit in Malaga under the supervision of Fuengirola’s Court of Instruction Number 4.
Officers reconstructed the shooting, identified the alleged gunman and linked the case to a wider organised crime network operating across several European countries.
The operation resulted in multiple arrests.
One suspect was detained in Torremolinos shortly after the shooting, while another alleged accomplice was later shot dead by police in Amsterdam after reportedly opening fire on officers attempting to arrest him.
Three women were also arrested over allegations they transported the murder weapon from Paris to the Costa del Sol.
The alleged shooter was eventually arrested in Ghent in June 2025 under a European arrest warrant.
Although he had already turned 18 by that point, the case continued through Spain’s juvenile justice system because he was still a minor when the crime was allegedly committed.
The teenager was initially held in a closed detention centre for nine months, the maximum preventive detention period permitted before trial under Spain’s juvenile system.
Once that period expired, he was released.
According to judicial sources cited by El Pais, no precautionary measures were requested at the time of his release.
The suspect reportedly left custody without being required to regularly report to court, without passport confiscation and without any travel restrictions.
Read more Andalucia news at the Spanish Eye.
