A Swedish teenager was hired to execute a Marbella plastic surgeon by a dissatisfied customer, it is claimed.
The suspected killer, aged just 18, was staying in a tourist flat in Benalmadena and was preparing to flee the Costa del Sol when police arrested him.
The Swedish national was arrested less than 24 hours after internationally renowned doctor Alexander Aslani, 57, was shot several times in the head inside his Marbella clinic on Wednesday evening.
Police sources told EFE that the suspect does not live in Malaga province and had been staying in a tourist apartment in Benalmadena, around 45km from the crime scene.
Investigators are now attempting to establish who commissioned the killing and whether other people helped the teenager carry it out.
Further arrests have not been ruled out.
Police are focusing on two principal theories: that the attack was ordered by a patient who was unhappy with the outcome of an operation, or by somebody who had a financial or personal disagreement with Aslani before a planned procedure.
Officers are examining complaints previously made against the surgeon and tracing the movements of identified patients in the hours leading up to the killing.
Investigators have not determined whether the person who allegedly ordered the execution was a man or a woman.
The inquiry remains open and under judicial secrecy.
German-born Aslani was murdered shortly before 6pm on October 7 at Cirumed Clinic, which he founded in 2018.
The clinic is located inside the Panorama building in the Rio Real area of Marbella.
The suspected gunman allegedly arrived on a motorbike dressed entirely in black, with his face concealed by a helmet and hood.
After leaving the bike on the pavement outside, he entered the clinic and went directly to the office where Aslani was working.
The surgeon had performed several operations that day.
The attacker allegedly fired repeatedly at Aslani’s head before escaping from the premises. Emergency personnel attempted to stabilise the doctor but were unable to save his life.
Police are investigating whether the alleged killer received help obtaining the motorbike, weapon, accommodation or escape arrangements.
Sources close to the investigation said criminal groups and private clients are increasingly turning to extremely young hitmen who live outside Spain.
The recruits are frequently housed in tourist apartments and promised relatively easy money for carrying out an attack.
Their lack of experience also reportedly makes them cheaper to hire than established professional assassins.
The Aslani investigation is not currently being treated as an organised-crime case. Police previously ruled out any direct connection between the surgeon and the criminal organisations operating on the Costa del Sol.
However, officers are examining whether any of his extensive international clientele may have links to illicit businesses.
Aslani had more than 30 years of experience and reportedly performed approximately 14,000 operations during his career.
He previously headed the plastic-surgery departments at the Quiron hospitals in Malaga and Marbella and specialised in advanced body-contouring procedures, including buttock augmentation.
The arrest adds another case to a disturbing pattern of Scandinavian and northern European teenagers allegedly sent to the Costa del Sol to carry out contract killings.
