POLICE HAVE arrested three Eastern European men in connection with the abduction and robbery of an English couple in April this year, a high profile case that attracted international publicity.
The incident, at a villa in Sobradinho de Alfeição in Loulé, led to the death of 60-year-old Englishman John Turner from a heart attack, following a serious physical assault. The Polícia Judiciária (PJ) are now questioning three Eastern European men, aged between 21 and 30, all of whom are residents of Almancil. One of the suspects had been living in the Algarve for five years, but the other two men had only been in the region for six months.
The English couple were bound, threatened and assaulted by the men, who stole jewellery and two cars, a Mercedes and a BMW. One of the cars was recently spotted in Spain, where police believe the criminals were trying to sell it. But police have still not recovered the second car and the stolen jewellery.
The national director of the PJ in Faro, Guilhermino Encarnação, confirmed that John Turner’s death resulted from assaults perpetrated by the three men. “The case did not have the classic hallmarks of murder. For that reason, we started to investigate robbery suspects,” he noted.
