A TEENAGE hitman accused of a cold-blooded execution on the Costa del Sol has been arrested in Belgium after fleeing Spain following his release from jail.
The suspect, who was 17 when the alleged murder took place, is accused of blasting 18 bullets at a 25-year-old Dutch worker outside a cannabis club in Fuengirola in December 2024.
According to Diario SUR, he travelled back to his native Belgium in May this year after spending nine months in a Spanish jail – the maximum period allowed for underage offenders under Spanish law.
He is now set to stand trial in the Netherlands, SUR reported, after investigators linked the killing to organised crime networks operating out of the country.
READ MORE: Costa del Sol crime: Teen hitman disappears after court frees him
Investigators reconstructed the attack using CCTV footage and believe the teenager travelled from Belgium to Malaga specifically to carry out the hit.
He allegedly took advantage of a customer leaving the Fuengirola cannabis club to try to force his way inside, though police now believe the customer may have been an accomplice.
When the victim spotted the hooded gunman carrying a rifle, he rushed to shut the door and retreated inside as the attacker kicked at the entrance and opened fire.
Terrified customers began screaming and raced towards the back of the premises looking for an escape, tearing through awnings to reach the adjoining street.
Meanwhile, according to sources quoted by SUR, the hitman circled the premises in search of his target.
Once around the corner, he opened fire on the young Dutchman, killing him.
Police believe the victim was not the intended target, but simply the first person to emerge onto the street.
After the shooting, the gunman dumped his weapon under a car before fleeing by bicycle and eventually taking refuge in a bar, where he waited until the following morning for his accomplices.
READ MORE: Inside the plot that armed a Belgian teenage hitman to kill in Spain
He later fled to Belgium, where he was arrested for the first time before being extradited to Spain in July 2025.
The case has been linked to the feared Mocro Maffia, the Dutch-Moroccan underworld organisation notorious for contract killings and narco violence across Europe.
According to Europol, criminal groups now openly advertise killings and shootings on encrypted apps such as Telegram, Signal and Snapchat, offering quick money to teenagers – while the masterminds remain in the shadows.
The boy is believed to have been contracted in the Netherlands and supplied with a military-grade assault rifle smuggled from Paris before travelling to Fuengirola.
The network included Dutch and Belgian nationals, three Dutch women who transported the weapon across borders, and a Dutch mastermind who allegedly ordered the killing from abroad, according to Spanish media reports.
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