Irish police work with NCA to establish identity of body found off Donegal coast
The are working together to ascertain if the man is Robert Wilkin who was due to stand trial on drugs charges later this year.
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.Irish police are working with the UK’s National Crime Agency to identify the body of a man found off the coast of Co Donegal.
It is believed the man may be Robert Wilkin who was due to go on trial over a multi-million pound drug seizure later this year.
Mr Wilkin, who is from Northern Ireland, was arrested by the NCA in August 2021 after his lorry was stopped at Coquelles with £5.7m cocaine and heroin on board.
In a statement, the NCA said they are “working with the Irish police to ascertain whether it is the same person”.
The body was recovered in the waters around the mountain of Slieve League on Monday.
On Tuesday An Garda Siochana said the results of the post-mortem are not being released for “operational purposes”.
Gardai investigating an alleged assault in the Slieve League/Killybegs area of Co Donegal on the weekend of June 24-25 in relation to the incident arrested a man and a woman arrested who were later released without charge.
Gardai have established an incident room at Ballyshannon Garda station.
They have appealed to anyone travelling in the vicinity of Killybegs/Slieve League between the afternoon of Saturday June 24 and the evening of Sunday June 25 and who observed any activity that drew their attention to come forward.
Any road users travelling in these areas at these times who may have camera footage, including dash-cam, have been asked to make it available to investigating gardai.