Teen suspected as a contract killer held for murdering Dutch man, 25, in Spain
Authorities in Belgium arrested 19-year-old Shah C. on suspicion of murdering Dutch man Jasin Ajar in Spain about 18 months ago in a likely case of mistaken identity. The 25-year-old victim was shot dead in Fuengirola on Dec. 7, 2024. C. was taken into custody in Laarne on Thursday, marking the second time the teenager was arrested in connection with the crime.
The allegations date back to when the suspect was 17 years of age. At the time of his first arrest in Spain, police there said a minor has never been convicted in that country of being a contract killer, a Málaga police spokesperson told RTL Nieuws.
It did not take long before police in Spain said they thought Ajar's murder was a case of mistaken identity. Ajar took a break from his studies and moved from Zwolle to Spain for the year, where he picked up work as a bartender in the resort town between Málaga and Marbella.
Witnesses said Ajar quickly closed the doors of the cannabis cafe where he worked as soon as he spotted an armed individual was seen walking towards the business. The gunman ran into the victim when Ajar ducked out the back with two others, exiting onto the street, RTL Nieuws reported at the time.
The Zwolle man was then shot 18 times. A man believed to be an Amsterdam resident with a lengthy criminal record was supposedly present in the bar, and my have been marked for assassination.
It emerged last year that police in Málaga and the Netherlands suspected the teen of the killing. A Dutch-Somali Amsterdam resident, 27-year-old Mustafa A., was alleged as a co-conspirator tasked with letting the killer into the cafe. Another Dutch man, Amsterdam resident Afif J., allegedly gave the gun to the suspected killer.
Shah C., Mustafa A., Afif J were seen together in Torremolinos, Spain, the morning after the murder, according to De Stentor. A. was arrested and extradited to the Netherlands a few days later. J. was killed by a police tactical team after he opened fire when they attempted to arrest him in Rotterdam on suspicion of a separate murder.
The mastermind is believed to be suspected drug trafficker Nail el G., who is also accused in the murder of Younes Arsalane, found dead in an Amsterdam-Osdorp apartment storage hallway early in 2025. El G. was taken into custody after authorities said he discussed a plot to murder another suspected criminal, Soufiane O., with an undercover police officer.
Three women, were suspected of picking up two weapons in Paris, including the Tokarev semi-automatic used in the shooting. Dounya E., Nouhaïla A., and Samya van K., all in their early twenties, allegedly rented a car to bring the firearms to Spain. They are also accused of organizing transportation to help C. and J. get out of Spain.
Shah C., at one point identified as a Dutch person, was actually born in Ghent, prosecutors in the Netherlands said on Friday. "Following the murder, the suspect had previously been arrested in Belgium. In September 2025, he was extradited to Spain," the Dutch Public Prosecution Service (OM) said.
As the murder happened when he was a minor, a maximum limit for pre-trial detention in a Spanish jail was reached, and C. was released from custody. He was re-arrested at the request of Spanish authorities, and will be prosecuted in Amsterdam for the murder.
C. was arrested in Laarne, Belgium, on Thursday. Dutch authorities have requested extradition.
