Three women held over body found in canal
The three Irish women were picked up along with a man, who was also Irish, following a series of major breakthroughs into the shocking murder.
The victim had been stabbed to death and cut up into separate body parts, some of which were dumped into the Royal Canal in north Dublin.
The man’s headless torso, as well as his arms and legs, were found in separate sections in the canal near Ballybough Bridge on March 30 last. The head was not located.
Gardaí suspect that the body may have been deliberately cut up to lead officers to believe the victim had been the subject of a ritualistic killing common to parts of Africa.
Officers said while they had investigated that scenario, and the possibility the killers were African, they had followed a number of lines of inquiry.
The investigation by gardaí at Fitzgibbon Street Station led them to four main suspects, all Irish, living in Tallaght in west Dublin.
Gardaí yesterday gave details of the key breakthroughs:
* Identification of the victim as Farah Swaleh Noor, a 38-year-old native of Somalia, living here since 1996.
* The location of the suspected murder scene in Ballybough.
* The arrest yesterday morning of four prime suspects for the murder.
“The identification of the victim and the discovery of what we believe to be the murder scene were significant breakthroughs,” said a garda source.
“These have led to the four arrests. They are our main suspects.”
He said the discovery of the murder scene resulted from a lengthy investigation involving up to 2,000 house-to-house inquiries as well as help from the community.
Gardaí found evidence of a struggle at the house and a detailed forensic examination was carried out.
It is understood that material, including blood samples and forensic samples of hairs and fingerprints, were taken for analysis.
Gardaí yesterday gave details of the four people they had arrested:
* A female, 49, from Phibsboro and Tallaght, arrested at Summerhill, in the north inner city, at 10.15am and detained at Mountjoy Garda Station.
* A female, 22, from Tallaght, arrested 10.40am in Tallaght and detained Mountjoy Station.
* A female, 30, from Tallaght, arrested 10.40am and detained at Store Street.
* A male, 52, from Tallaght, arrested 10.55am in Terenure and detained at Store Street.
All four were detained under Section 4 of the Criminal Justice Act, which allows for two, six-hour detention periods.
A garda spokesman yesterday said inquiries were ongoing and that they were still appealing to anyone who knew Mr Noor or was in the Ballybough/Royal Canal area on March 29 and 30 to contact Fitzgibbon Street Station on 1800-218-219.
