Garda appeal over canal body draws public response

Gardaí say they have received a number of calls following their appeal for information after a man's dismembered body was discovered…

Gardaí say they have received a number of calls following their appeal for information after a man's dismembered body was discovered in a Dublin canal.

The remains, which are those of a black male aged between 20 and 30, were found in the Royal Canal in Ballybough, near Croke Park, by a passerby on Wednesday evening.

Gardaí said the man died a "brutal" death and appealed for information to help establish his identity.

Chief Superintendent Michael Feehan told ireland.comthat gardaí investigating the man's death had received "quite a few" calls following appeals this morning and yesterday.

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He said gardaí had an "open mind" on the inquiry and that they had not ruled out any line of investigation. He could not, however, confirm reports that gardaí have begun interviewing members of the immigrant community in an effort to find out who the man might be.

Chief Supt Feehan said all such avenues of inquiry were obviously open. He again appealed for anyone who was in the Ballybough area in recent days or weeks to come forward with any information.

Gardaí are also keen for anyone with suspicions about another possible crime scene to come forward.

Officers believe the man was killed elsewhere before his body was dumped, and they are keen to find the murder scene as quickly as possible. Chief Supt Feehan conceded it was possible he may not have been killed in Dublin.

All the dead man's limbs had been detached from the body, and his head has not yet been found.

"The body may have been in the canal for a week and possibly up to two weeks," Chief Supt Feehan said in a separate radio appeal this morning.

Detectives working on the case believe the man had been dead for more than a week before his body was discovered partially wrapped in black plastic in the canal at around 7.30pm on Wednesday.

The remains were discovered at the same stretch of the canal - near Ballybough Bridge in the north inner city - where the badly beaten body of a Romanian man, Adrian Bestea, was found stuffed into a suitcase in 2001.

Anyone with information which might assist the Garda is asked to contact the incident room at Fitzgibbon Street in Dublin on 01-6668400.