Police hunt for person who ordered Marbella surgeon's execution as 18-year-old alleged hitman held

The alleged hitman, arrested by National Police officers barely 24 hours after the crime, has admitted to carrying out the killing, but the investigation is now focused on answering the key question: who ordered the doctor’s murder.

Among the main lines of inquiry, officers are investigating the theory that the attack was an act of revenge stemming from a patient’s dissatisfaction.

Hours before the fatal attack took place, as reported by SUR, a Cirumed client sent several messages to the clinic expressing her dissatisfaction with the outcome of a cosmetic treatment.

In the messages, the woman demanded a refund and made threats. According to sources close to the case, this was not an isolated incident; a week earlier, the patient’s partner had already visited the premises to voice his dissatisfaction and issue warnings to the staff.

However, this woman is not believed to be the only patient to have had disputes with the medical centre. For this reason, the investigators’ main theory is that the murder was a contract killing motivated by revenge or retaliation.

Aslani was a highly respected figure in private medicine on the Costa del Sol: he had over a quarter of a century’s experience, had performed more than 15,000 surgical procedures and had a following of around 200,000 on Instagram. His reputation attracted patients from more than 40 countries to his clinic.

Having trained at international hospitals including Highgate Hospital in London, King Edward Hospital in Durban (South Africa) and the Paracelsus University Hospital in Austria, Aslani established his career in Spain by heading the Plastic Surgery departments at the Quirón hospitals in Málaga and Quirón Marbella between 2008 and 2018.

In 2007, he founded Cirumed Clinic, a centre located in the Panorama building, next to the A-7 at the entrance to Marbella, equipped with two operating theatres and eight private suites.

Aslani was regarded as a pioneer in the Brazilian Butt Lift (BBL) technique, a buttock contouring procedure of which he performed more than 7,000 operations, and was the creator of the Supercharged BBL variant. The surgeon was also a member of professional organisations such as the American Society of Plastic Surgeons (ASPS) and the International Society of Aesthetic Plastic Surgeons (ISAPS), amongst others.

Those who worked with him on a day-to-day basis highlight his absolute dedication to his work.

“He was a wonderful person, a very successful man who wasn’t involved in any shady dealings,” one of his friends told SUR following the incident. “That bloke was just there, working until eleven o’clock at night,” he added.

On the very day of his death, Aslani had been performing surgery throughout the morning and early afternoon before starting his surgery hours.

Next to the clinic is Samira Beauty, a beauty salon run by the victim’s wife, with whom he had two daughters, one of whom is a minor. Its clientele included high-net-worth individuals from various backgrounds, a diverse group amongst whom those close to the victim did not rule out the presence of people linked to illicit businesses.

The crime took place shortly before 6pm on Wednesday at the Cirumed clinic, whilst several patients were present at the centre.

A man dressed in black, wearing a hood and a turtleneck, burst straight into the consultation room where the doctor was treating a patient. Without saying a word, he opened fire at point-blank range four times, firing the final shot into the patient’s jugular vein.