Irishman arrested in Spain after bodies find

GARDAÍ were last night gathering information on an Irish man arrested yesterday by Spanish police in connection with the discovery of two bodies, thought to be those of missing Dublin criminals.

Gardaí believe the victims are Shane Coates and Stephen Sugg, leaders of the notorious Westies gang, but are awaiting confirmation.

Coates, 31, and Sugg, 27, from Blanchardstown, north west Dublin, fled to Spain in 2003 to escape gardaí and rival gangs.

They were reportedly kidnapped near Alicante, in south-eastern Spain, on anuary 31, 2004, and allegedly killed.

Spanish police discovered the remains of two bodies under six feet of concrete in an industrial estate in the town of Catral, 40km from Alicante, at around 6pm on Tuesday, after receiving information from gardaí.

Ireland’s top Garda drug officer, Chief Supt Cormac Gordon of the Garda National Drugs Unit (GNDU) flew to Alicante on Sunday to assist in the investigation.

At around 8am yesterday, plain clothes officers from the Spanish Civil Guard arrested an Irishman at his home, near to where the bodies were discovered.

The man, 35, is originally from Finglas, north Dublin, and had been living with his family in Spain for a number of years. The man is known to the GNDU, but had not been considered a major player in the drugs trade.

Officers from the GNDU are looking into the man to gather what information they can about him.

It was suggested yesterday by gardaí that the man did not have any convictions, at least not any serious convictions, in Ireland.

It was not clear yesterday whether information on the man came from gardaí or from the Spanish police, who have also been investigating the matter for more than two years.

Garda Commissioner Noel Conroy yesterday confirmed that the information leading to the discovery of the bodies came from gardaí and had been passed on to Spanish authorities.

The GNDU travelled to Spain before as part of the investigation. The unit has a working relationship with the Spanish police and has a permanent liaison officer based in Madrid.

Working on the information, Spanish police found the bodies after digging up a laneway alongside a rented warehouse in Catral on Tuesday morning.

The bodies were badly decomposed. They were taken away yesterday for a full post mortem, which is expected to take some time.

Initial indications suggest gun shot wounds.

DNA and dental analysis are expected to take weeks and are likely to involve a request to the victims’ families for samples for comparison. They are expected to arrive in Spain in the coming days.

Spanish police will begin establishing who had access to the warehouse around the time of the disappearance and speak to any possible witnesses in the area. The garda team is to be strengthened in the coming days.