Search for suspects in Dutch killing

DUTCH police investigating the discovery of the dismembered remains of a young Irishman say they do not yet have any firm suspects for his killing.

Keith Ennis, who was facing drugs and firearms charges here, disappeared last month from his lodgings in Amsterdam where he had been hiding out since he jumped bail after a court appearance in Dublin at the end of 2007.

The 29-year-old father of a young child, who lived in the west Dublin suburb of Clondalkin, is believed to have been more in fear of his fellow drugs associates than he was of the law.

His body was found carved up and concealed in a number of suitcases and bags spotted by a passer-by floating in a canal on the outskirts of the Dutch capital on February 24.

“At first we could not be sure if it was animal or human remains,” said Amsterdam police spokesman, Sergeant Arnout Aben.

“But we searched the water and found all the obvious body parts and we were able to take good pictures of the face and tattoos so we believe he was not in the water longer than a few days.”

Police initially released the pictures publicly in the Netherlands, but when no-one came forward to identify the remains, they circulated fingerprint details to police forces internationally. The fingerprints matched those of Ennis who was arrested in October 2007 in possession of a handgun and cocaine.

Sgt Aben said the Ennis family would not be put through the ordeal of having to identify the remains.

“He had very distinctive tattoos — some lettering and designs — and the photographs of his face were clear, so that is how the family can know him. It would not be very nice for them to see him now.”

After Ennis’s arrest, gardaí raided a warehouse and uncovered a cocaine mixing factory. It is believed the gang based there blamed him for leading detectives to the facility and murdered him — or arranged for his murder — in retaliation.

His killers did a professional job, dumping his body in a stretch of the vast IJ canal in a largely unpopulated area where, despite extensive inquiries, no witnesses to any suspicious activity have been found.

“There is movement of the water there — not quite like a river, but enough to move a body so it is not possible to say exactly where the bags were dumped,” said Sgt Aben. “We don’t have any suspects yet, but we are in close contact with the Irish police on the investigation.”

He said the Netherlands had a problem with members of foreign drugs gangs hiding out there, but he said the country was not unique in that respect.

“We also have Dutch criminals who are hiding abroad.”

A Garda spokeswoman said gardaí were assisting the Dutch police with the investigation.