A DINER who survived being shot in the face in an upmarket Malaga restaurant in front of horrified witnesses has been identified as a Turkish drug kingpin.
Ümit Yalçin, 47, was having dinner with another man and two women in the Muelle Uno shopping centre on Tuesday around 10.30pm when a man suddenly approached the table.
According to reports, the stranger pulled out a gun and shot Yalçin point-blank.
Terror gripped other diners as the attacker fled from the restaurant, leaving Yalcin lying on the floor in a pool of blood.
He was rushed to hospital badly disfigured but still alive, according to Spanish media reports, and is now on life support in a stable condition.
READ MORE: WATCH: Man shot in face at packed Malaga port restaurant as city sees fourth shooting in two weeks
Police are now searching for the shooter and an alleged accomplice also spotted by witnesses at the scene.
Turkish media have since identified him as Ümit ‘The Gipsy’, a gangland figure and former leader of Genç Fenerbahçeliler, the largest ultra group supporting Turkish football giants Fenerbahçe.
According to Turkish media, Yalcin eventually quit the ultras group to focus on organised crime and has been living in Spain since 2024.
He had already survived a shooting ambush in Istanbul in 2016, when he was reportedly fighting for control of the drugs trade.
According to Turkish crime journalist Cevheri Güven, around 400kg of cocaine belonging to Yalcin’s gang was stolen in Spain last year, sparking a feud with a rival Turkish group known as the Dalton gang.
The conflict has since grown into a wider war between rival Turkish criminal factions operating across Europe, with Malaga already serving as a battleground in the feud.
READ MORE: Shocking shootout at Aldi supermarket blamed on Turkish mafia war exported to the Costa del Sol
In July 2025, prominent Dalton member Caner Koçer was seriously wounded in a shooting at an Aldi car park near Estepona.
He was later gunned down in broad daylight in Torrevieja, Alicante, on August 3.
Turkish reports say the Daltons have blamed Yalcin for ordering Koçer’s murder and vowed revenge against his allies.
Following Tuesday’s shooting, social media accounts linked to the Dalton gang reportedly posted messages claiming that their ‘revenge had been achieved’.
Police are now investigating whether Tuesday’s attack was part of the ongoing feud, according to media reports.
Yalçin was previously arrested alongside 49 other people in 2019, El Español reported, as Istanbul police cracked down on a crime ring he was accused of leading.
He was acquitted in 2023 and moved to Spain to escape further scrutiny from Turkish authorities, according to local media reports.
READ MORE: Gang boss gunned down by Turkish mafia rivals in busy Costa Blanca tourist spot
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What does this say about Spain’s management and control of its borders? Time after time, known criminals, often not even from the EU, enter Spain. How can this happen when ‘obvious tourists’ are often given an inquisition on entry! Things seem out of control and the Policia National and others ought to reorganise their resources to reflect this crisis in the growth in entry in hardened, violent criminals.