Gardai start murder hunt after finding man's body in Crumlin

A murder investigation is underway in Crumlin, Dublin, following the discovery of a body in a shallow grave on Saturday morning.

Gardaí discovered the male body in the grounds of St Kevin's College off Sundrive Road at about 11.30 a.m. They had been carrying out a planned search of the area, following confidential information.

This was the culmination of a four-and-a half-month investigation into the disappearance of a 22-year-old man who went missing from his home on September 28th last.

A Garda spokeswoman said there were suggestions that the death might have been drug-related but this could not be confirmed. "The body hasn't even been formally identified yet," she said.

According to gardaí, it appeared the body had been there for some time and it would take several weeks to make a formal identification.

However, the missing man's family have been contacted by gardaí and told the discovery could be linked with his disappearance.

The State Pathologist, Dr John Harbison, carried out a preliminary investigation of the body at the incident scene on Saturday and the body was then removed to the city morgue for a full post-mortem. The scene was also examined by forensic and technical experts from Garda headquarters.

Gardaí have asked anyone who may have seen anything unusual or suspicious in the college grounds to come forward. Anyone with information is asked to contact Sundrive Road Garda station at 01-6666 600 or any other Garda station.

This is the second discovery of a body in a shallow grave in just over a fortnight. Gardaí are investigating links between both cases.

On January 25th, the remains of a young man were discovered near the Grand Canal in Clondalkin.

Detectives had been searching for a 17-year-old Ballyfermot youth who had disappeared in January 1999. They received an anonymous tip-off which led to the search in the Clondalkin area.

The youth's family had believed he was abducted over a heroin debt of several thousand pounds.

A spokeswoman said that the body had not yet been formally identified by gardaí.

She agreed that there were similarities between both cases but said that this was just one aspect of the investigation.