GARDAÍ ARE liaising with Spanish police after it emerged burnt human remains found in Malaga three months ago appear to be those of a missing middle-aged Irish drug dealer.
The burnt remains of the body found in Mijas, Malaga, in April are believed to be that of a 57-year-old man. While originally from Northern Ireland, the man had a Republic of Ireland passport and had also been living in the Republic with his partner.
The profile of a DNA sample taken from the remains has been sent to Ireland in the hope it can be cross-checked with the man’s relatives in order to formally confirm the identity of the body.
The Irish Times understands the dead man’s partner is still living in the home they shared at Laytown, Co Meath.
His name is widely known but is not being released or published until the identity is formally confirmed and all family members have been informed.
The man had been involved in the drugs trade. According to Garda sources he had been imprisoned in the Netherlands in the past for drug crime. His mother and other family members are still living in the North.
The remains were so badly burnt detectives could only identify the man through the recovery of the serial number of a prosthetic knee found at the scene.
One source in Dublin said it appears the man underwent the knee operation in Dublin’s Meath hospital.
The remains were discovered on April 12th by a passerby who spotted smoke coming from a wastewater pipe near a football ground in Las Mijas. On closer inspection the person noticed it was a burnt human body and alerted the Guardía Civil.
According to local newspaper Diario Sur the remains were in such a deteriorated state that police believe the killers used petrol as an accelerant in a bid to cover their trace.
All that remained of the body was the skull and part of the torso, which made identification practically impossible.
Police discovered part of a prosthetic knee at the scene and traced the serial number to a Swedish factory which supplied the piece in the UK almost a decade ago. The investigation then stalled as the UK business had been closed for several years.
However, according to local media, Spanish police later came across a report filed by the man’s daughter in the UK saying the missing Irish citizen had travelled to Spain about the same time the body was discovered in Mijas.
It appears the woman confirmed her father had had an operation on his knee over 10 years ago as a result of a skiing accident.
In her statement the daughter said her father had gone shopping in Gibraltar and that he would return a couple of days later to Ireland.
He is also thought to have visited the Malaga area as his girlfriend reported his disappearance to police on April 16th in Torremolinos. He was last seen alive in Mijas the day before the body was discovered.
When contacted by The Irish Times a Guardía Civil spokesman said he could not comment as the investigation was ongoing. A spokeswoman for the Department of Foreign Affairs said they were “aware” of the case.