Gardaí believe that the man found dead in a remote area of Co Wicklow on Saturday was shot in a gangland-style attack and dumped by the roadside by his killers nearly two months ago.
The dead man was named last night as 31-year-old Yohan Verhoeven of Inagh Court, Ballybrack, Co Dublin. He was well known to gardaí for his involvement in the illicit drugs trade in south Dublin and Wicklow.
The dead man was last seen leaving a house at Rathsallagh in Shankill, Dublin, on the morning of Tuesday, July 11th. He was reported as missing by his family when he failed to contact them.
He was living with his partner in Bray, Co Wicklow, at the time of his disappearance.
Gardaí issued an appeal for information about his whereabouts.
However, despite the media campaign, no information emerged until Saturday afternoon when a group of hill walkers happened across his body at Sally Gap, Co Wicklow.
The scene was immediately sealed off and Garda forensic experts were called in. The remains were so badly decomposed that the cause of death was not immediately apparent. However, sources said the victim had sustained what appeared to be serious injuries to his head which they believe probably resulted from a gunshot wound.
"It is early in the investigation and because the body is there so long it will take a bit of time for the exact cause of death to be established," said one source.
Detectives are working on the theory that the remains were left in the remote area shortly after the victim disappeared nearly two months ago.
It was not known if Mr Verhoeven was killed at the scene or at another location and his remains driven to the Sally Gap and dumped by the roadside.
The road to the Sally Gap was sealed off throughout yesterday and was not expected to reopen until later today at the earliest.
The dead man's parents visited the area yesterday and placed flowers at the scene.
A large team of gardaí were drafted in to search the area for any items or other forensic evidence left behind.
State Pathologist Prof Marie Cassidy carried out an examination of the remains at the scene yesterday before they were removed by ambulance just after 2pm to St Columcille's Hospital, Loughlinstown.
A postmortem was expected to be concluded last night.
Gardaí have enlisted the services of a well-known UK forensic expert, Dr John Manlove.
He specialises in determining the time and causes of death and whether a body has been moved in cases where the deceased has been dead for a long period.
Dr Manlove also studies the remains to determine toxicology levels in a deceased's system at the time of death.
Garda sources said that while a number of lines of inquiry were being followed, the investigation was focusing on Mr Verhoeven's activities in the drugs trade.
They believe he was killed after falling foul of other drug dealers.
The investigation into his murder is being carried out by gardaí at Wicklow Town Garda station backed by members of the National Bureau of Criminal Investigation.
Anyone with information on the killing is asked to contact Wicklow Town Garda station on (0404) 67107.
