A BELGIAN fugitive wanted over a fatal shooting on the Costa del Sol was apprehended after coming face-to-face with an off-duty Spanish cop holidaying with his family.
The police officer, from the UDYCO Costa del Sol organised crime unit, was walking back to his hotel in Ghent late at night in July when he spotted a group of young men.
Among them was a teenager, identified only as S., wanted over the murder of a young man in Fuengirola in December 2024.
The suspect, who was aged just 17 at the time of the shooting, is accused of firing 18 bullets at a worker outside a cannabis club in what investigators believe was a case of mistaken identity.
Despite being off duty and abroad, the officer recognised the suspect and discreetly followed him through the streets of the Belgian city.
He followed his trail for nearly two kilometres, taking photographs and recording video before the suspect slipped away into a suburban neighbourhood.
The officer then passed the information and footage to colleagues via a work group chat.
At the time, however, he had no power to detain the suspect himself as there was no international or European arrest warrant in place.
That changed the following day, when Spanish investigators learned that a Dutch court had issued a European Arrest Warrant.
The shooting victim was from the Netherlands, meaning the case had fallen under Dutch jurisdiction.
The officer’s account, combined with CCTV footage from the route he followed, gave Belgian and Dutch police the crucial information needed to locate the suspect, who was arrested less than 48 hours later.
The suspect was originally extradited from Belgium to Spain in July 2025 and remained in custody while awaiting trial, spending eight months in a secure reform centre.
He was then ordered to remain in Spain and report when summoned, but disappeared shortly afterwards.
Investigators believe the killing was linked to organised crime networks operating out of the Netherlands.
According to the investigation, the teenager allegedly travelled to Malaga from Belgium specifically to carry out the hit.
He escaped the scene on a bicycle after dumping the weapon beneath a parked car.
The victim’s body was discovered by a thief who ransacked his belongings before fleeing.
Police later discovered the victim – a 25-year-old Dutch national called Jasin Ajar – was not the intended target.
Authorities say the real target was another individual connected to the venue.
The wider investigation led to several arrests across Spain, Belgium and the Netherlands, including suspects accused of organising the attack and transporting the assault rifle used in the shooting.
One alleged accomplice was shot dead by police in Amsterdam after reportedly opening fire on officers attempting to arrest him.
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