A teenager has been arrested on suspicion of murder after a renowned plastic surgeon was allegedly shot dead in front of horrified customers at his clinic in Marbella.
Alexander Aslani, 57, a surgeon trained in Britain, was reportedly shot several times in the head after a masked gunman entered his Costa del Sol clinic.
The attacker, who was said to be dressed entirely in black, escaped on a Yamaha scooter allegedly ridden by an accomplice. A major manhunt followed, ending around 24 hours later with the arrest of an 18-year-old Swedish suspect.
Dr Aslani was pronounced dead at the scene.
His wife, Jeannine, who served as the clinic’s director of nursing, is believed to have been at a neighbouring clinic when the attack took place on Wednesday evening.
Before the arrest, investigators were examining whether Dr Aslani may have been the target of a contract killing allegedly commissioned by a dissatisfied former patient. The surgeon had worked at Highgate Hospital in London and Dolan Park Hospital near Birmingham.
Regional digital news outlet 101TV reported that homicide detectives were exploring a possible link to the death of a wealthy South American patient on an operating table. However, people close to Dr Aslani later insisted that he had never lost a patient in such circumstances.
Plastic surgeon Alexander Aslani was shot dead at his Marbella clinic
Emergency services gathered outside the Cirumed Clinic following Wednesday evening’s attack
Dr Aslani treated several high-profile clients, including former Towie star Chloe Sims and television personality Aisleyne Horgan-Wallace, who paid tribute to him online
Local newspaper Sur later reported that a client at the Cirumed Clinic had sent threatening messages just hours before the shooting. The woman was said to be unhappy with the outcome of a treatment and had demanded a refund. Dr Aslani, a married father of two, founded and ran the clinic.
Police are continuing to investigate who may have hired the suspected gunman to kill the plastic surgeon and what motive lay behind the attack.
A brief police statement said: ‘A man aged 18 has just been arrested as the suspected author of the homicide committed on Wednesday evening in Marbella.’
The clinic, located in eastern Marbella, specialises in Brazilian butt lifts, commonly known as BBLs, as well as breast enhancement procedures.
Among Dr Aslani’s well-known former clients were ex-Towie star Chloe Sims and television personality Aisleyne Horgan-Wallace, both of whom paid tribute to him on social media.
The investigation remains focused on identifying whoever allegedly commissioned the killing and establishing why the surgeon was targeted.
Dr Aslani had around 200,000 Instagram followers and worked as a consultant plastic surgeon at London’s Highgate Hospital from 2007 to 2009. Earlier in his career, he held the same role at Dolan Park Hospital in Bromsgrove, Worcestershire.
He began his surgical training in South Africa. His father, Dr Amir Aslani, was recognised as one of the pioneers of modern mastectomy surgery in Germany during the 1970s.
Reality TV star Aisleyne Horgan-Wallace told her fans she was ‘absolutely devastated’ by the killing
Dr Aslani, who had around 200,000 Instagram followers, worked as a consultant plastic surgeon at Highgate Hospital in London from 2007 to 2009
As an active member of Interplast, a global network of non-profit humanitarian organisations providing free plastic and reconstructive surgery to people in developing communities, Dr Aslani led a paediatric plastic surgery mission each year in Calcutta in India, operating on cleft lip in underprivileged children.
Ms Sims had publicly thanked the plastic surgeon for a BBL in 2018, posting on Instagram: ‘HAPPY.’
That same year, Love Island’s Hannah Elizabeth credited him after undergoing the same surgery.
After learning of his death, TV personality Aisleyne Horgan-Wallace led the tributes to the surgeon, posting on Instagram: ‘I am ABSOLUTELY DEVASTATED. Dr Aslani was a beautiful human being with great humour and a big heart. Words escape me. So much love to his wife and kids and team. I pray they find who did this.’
In another post she wrote: ‘I feel sick, my heart breaks for him and his family. In total shock.’
The reality star described how she had ‘spent a whole month’ with Mr Aslani, his wife and children, and that his death had ‘affected me badly’. She added: ‘He was the kindest man and greatest surgeon and his wife is a dream.’
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Friend and patient Nance Lala Van der Veken wrote on social media: ‘I’m absolutely devastated. You didn’t just change my body – you helped shape a part of my life.
‘You were truly one of the best plastic surgeons, but to me, you were so much more than my doctor. You were my friend, someone I trusted completely, and someone whose work I will carry with me for the rest of my life.
‘It was an honour to have known you and to carry your incredible work with me. Your talent, kindness, and memory will always remain a part of me. Rest in peace, my dear friend. You will never be forgotten.’
Fellow plastic surgeon Dr Adel Quttainah said: ‘Life is truly unpredictable, he was an exceptional doctor and a kind soul. May your soul rest in peace. You will be remembered.’
The attack comes after three Swedish nationals of Somalian origin were arrested last month over the September 18 gun murder in a Malaga square of a 20-year-old man identified only as Nacho.
The paranoid gunmen, who have been remanded in prison, are thought to have mistaken him for a hit man who was about to attack them.
Police have already confirmed Nacho had no links to crime.
A Dutchman was shot in the leg on September 8 near a four-star hotel in Marbella in an incident linked to rival drug gang feuding and three suspects arrested after a police chase along the upmarket resort’s famous Golden Mile.
The incident happened a fortnight after a Senegalese man was killed in the same holiday town.
On September 22, a 47-year-old Turkish national was shot in the face at a seafront restaurant and remains in critical condition at a local hospital.
Witnesses described seeing two hooded figures storming into a restaurant before firing at the man and taking off.
Costa del Sol has emerged as a global hub for organised crime, with more than 100 mafia groups from around the world said to be operating along the 90-mile stretch of coastline.
These criminal networks are run by British, Irish, Swedish, Moroccan, Albanian and Colombian narco groups, who are partaking in an increasingly bloodthirsty battle for control, and leaving innocent bystanders to pay the price.
On September 5, police officers made a shocking discovery in Estepona when they found a torture chamber used by an Eastern European gang.
Cops arrived at a property in the Spanish town after a woman alerted them that her partner may be in danger.
When they arrived at the house, a Moroccan man emerged covered in blood, telling police: ‘They want to kill us! They want to kill us!’
Officers called for reinforcements before entering the home and unveiling a sinister room where gang members appeared to be carrying out torture and abuse.
A police source told Spanish news outlet El Español: ‘There was a room lined with plastic sheeting. It was a torture room because it had tools like pliers and hammers.’
Another man – a Spanish national – was found tied to a chair and covered in blood, while cops seized two AK-47 assault rifles and several handguns.
Images from inside the house show a chair and walls covered in plastic so that blood could be removed without leaving any evidence behind.
The Moroccan man who fled the property was the partner of the woman who raised the alarm.
He had told his girlfriend he was going to a house for a work meeting but told her to call the police if she didn’t hear from him within 20 minutes.
After 40 minutes without any contact, the woman called the police.
Both men were naked, covered in blood and had visible injuries when rescued.
Police are now investigating why they were being tortured, and seven Georgian nationals believed to be linked to the property have been arrested.
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