Police officers searched a flat in Shepherd's Bush, west London, following the discovery of human remains were found in two suitcases near the Clifton Suspension Bridge in Bristol. Photo / Getty Images
Police officers searched a flat in Shepherd's Bush, west London, following the discovery of human remains were found in two suitcases near the Clifton Suspension Bridge in Bristol. Photo / Getty Images
Police have taken a man for questioning over the deaths of two people whose remains were found in suitcases on a bridge in western England.
The 34-year-old man was arrested in the Bristol area in the early hours of Saturday following a joint operation by London’s Metropolitan Police and Avon and Somerset Police.
Armed officers arrested him at the city’s Temple Meads railway station. He is due to be taken from Bristol to London, where he will be questioned by detectives later on Saturday.
The development comes hours after more human remains were found at a property in Shepherd’s Bush, west London. Detectives confirmed that they belonged to the same two men whose remains were found in Bristol.
Avon and Somerset Police released images of a man wanted in connection with the discovery of human remains on Clifton Suspension Bridge in Bristol.
The Shepherd’s Bush property was raided on Friday as officers smashed down the door and cordoned off the street while forensics officers conducted searches. A police helicopter circled overhead for much of the day.
On Saturday afternoon, investigators in blue forensic suits, wearing masks and gloves, could be seen working behind the cordon. One took photographs of the area, while other investigators worked near a set of bins outside an estate just off Scotts Rd. Three police vehicles were used to block the view from beyond the cordon.
Dept Asst Commissioner Andy Valentine, of Scotland Yard, said: “This is a significant development in our investigation, and I would like to thank the public for their support.
“We understand the concerns of local communities in both Bristol and London, and officers will remain in the Clifton and Shepherd’s Bush areas over the coming days to reassure those affected by this tragic incident. Anyone with any concerns is encouraged to speak with them.”
Police said they were not looking for anyone else. Earlier, they had released a photograph and named a suspect they were seeking in connection with the grim discovery, which was made shortly before midnight on Wednesday.
Yostin Andres Mosquera, a 34-year-old Colombian national, was being sought as police released images thought to be of him and taken close to the Clifton Suspension Bridge.
He was believed to have travelled to Bristol from London in a vehicle in which he was not the driver. He was picked up in a taxi outside a pub in Clifton, an affluent area in the west of the city.
Our neighbourhood officers are in the area to help anyone with concerns.
We'll continue to conduct high-visibility engagement patrols in the Clifton and Leigh Woods areas over the coming days and have a mobile police station located next to the bridge (Clifton side). pic.twitter.com/VlUyGcX41r
— Avon and Somerset Police (@ASPolice) July 12, 2024
It is thought he then made a short journey from outside the pub to the other side of the bridge, which connects Bristol with Leigh Woods in North Somerset.
The manhunt began at 11.57pm on Wednesday, when police received reports of a man seen “acting suspiciously” near the Bristol bridge. Officers arrived within 10 minutes but the man had left the scene, leaving a suitcase behind. A second suitcase was found nearby a short time later.
Both were found to contain human remains. One post-mortem examination has been carried out, which proved “inconclusive”, police said. A second remains ongoing. The victims have not yet been formally identified, but both are believed to be adult men, detectives have said.
A 36-year-old man arrested on Friday in Greenwich, south London, in connection with the investigation has since been released without charge.
