Slain plastic surgeon Dr Alexander Aslani received threats months before he was shot dead inside his clinic in Marbella, it has emerged.
An 18-year-old Swedish national has been arrested for the execution-style murder, which saw the 57-year-old shot multiple times in the head.
Police are investigating whether the alleged hitman was hired by a disgruntled patient.
Aslani was killed on Wednesday evening (October 7) while seeing patients at his Cirumed clinic, located beside the A-7 motorway at the entrance to Marbella.
Just hours before his assassination, he re-shared a photo of himself and three other doctors who he had trained, taken inside the clinic.
They had captioned the photo: ‘Honored to learn next level sculpting by a true artist’.
According to Spanish newspaper SUR, the German-born surgeon had filed a police complaint in April after receiving threats believed to be connected to his professional activities.
Investigators are now examining the clinic’s patient records and previous complaints, looking for individuals who may have threatened Aslani or his staff following disagreements over treatments.
One particular incident under scrutiny involves a female patient who allegedly sent several messages to Cirumed expressing dissatisfaction with a procedure just hours before the fatal shooting.
Her partner had reportedly visited the clinic a week earlier to complain about the treatment and allegedly issued warnings to employees.
The investigation took a significant turn on Thursday when officers arrested the prime suspect, who had been staying in a tourist flat in Benalmadena.
The shooting took place shortly before 6pm on Wednesday, when several patients were inside the clinic.
A man dressed in black, wearing a hood and a neck covering to conceal his face, entered the premises and opened fire at close range.
Aslani was shot multiple times, with reports suggesting the final bullet struck his neck.
The attacker then fled the scene on a motorcycle.
Emergency medical teams from 061 rushed to the clinic but were unable to save the surgeon, who was pronounced dead at the scene.
His body was removed shortly after 9pm as police launched an investigation into the circumstances of the killing.
Aslani was one of Marbella’s most prominent cosmetic surgeons, with a career spanning more than 25 years and over 15,000 surgical procedures.
He had built an international reputation for his expertise in Brazilian Butt Lift (BBL) surgery, a cosmetic procedure involving the transfer of fat to reshape and enhance the buttocks.
He had reportedly performed more than 7,000 BBL procedures and developed a variation known as the Supercharged BBL.
His clinic attracted patients from more than 40 countries, while his social media following approached 200,000.
Aslani trained and worked at hospitals internationally, including Highgate Hospital in London, King Edward Hospital in Durban, South Africa, and Paracelsus Medical University Hospital in Austria.
Between 2008 and 2018, he headed the plastic surgery departments at Quiron hospitals in Malaga and Marbella.
He founded Cirumed Clinic in 2007, establishing it as a destination for international cosmetic surgery patients.
He was also a member of the American Society of Plastic Surgeons and the International Society of Aesthetic Plastic Surgery.
The Policia Nacional’s investigation continues.
