LATEST | Man found dead in sea off Donegal was due to stand trial for drug smuggling
Gardaí have been working on the theory that Wilkin had been assaulted and then thrown off the cliffs at Sliabh Liag
Neil Fetherstonhaugh
Today at 12:57
A man whose body was found in the sea after it is believed he was thrown off cliffs in Co Donegal has been named locally as Robert Wilkin, who was due to stand trial for heroin and cocaine smuggling.
The badly beaten body of the victim was discovered in the water at Slieve League, a popular tourist attraction, following a week-long operation involving land, air and deep-water search teams.
The body is believed to be that of Mr Wilkin, aged in his mid-60s, who is reported missing and is known to police.
The Irish national who had been arrested in England following the discovery of €6.7m worth of heroin and cocaine in a lorry in August 2021 had been living in Tilbury in Essex at the time.
However, he is believed to have been most recently living in the Killybegs area of Co Donegal and had been socialising in the Kilcar, Glenties or Sliabh Liag area in the days leading up to the weekend of June 24 and 25 when he disappeared.
He was understood to have been seen in the company of a man and woman before gardaí, acting on a tip-off from a member of the public, were alerted last Monday that a potential serious assault had been committed.
Two suspects were arrested and interviewed about the alleged assault last week. They were later released without charge.
The pair, a man in his late 30s and a woman in her late 20s, crashed a car in the village of Fintown, Co Donegal, on Sunday, June 25, resulting in the man’s arrest for alleged drink-driving.
The man was rearrested as he left Letterkenny District Court on suspicion of assault, while the woman was arrested at another location.
At the same time, detectives applied to Judge Brendan O’Reilly for a search warrant to examine the man’s car.
It is understood the car was covered in blood and also contained cleaning products.
A house in the Killybegs area was also sealed off as part of the investigation. During searches a blanket soaked in blood was recovered.
Gardaí have been working on the theory that Wilkin had been assaulted and then thrown off the cliffs at Sliabh Liag, which are among Europe’s highest sea cliffs.
A post-mortem examination on the remains was completed yesterday afternoon at Letterkenny University Hospital.
Gardaí said that for “operational purposes” they are not releasing the results.
Pending formal identification, it is expected that a murder investigation will be launched.
Sliabh Liag was closed to tourists for five days as gardaí, the Coast Guard and Donegal Mountain Rescue searched for the missing man.
Gardaí later extended their search to nearby Teelin Pier, leading to boat tours and other tourism businesses shutting down during what is usually their busy summer season.
Wilkin had been questioned by officers from the National Crime Agency (NCA) after the lorry he was driving was stopped at the Coquelles Channel Tunnel terminal on Thursday, August 12, 2021.
The truck which was registered in Poland had been carrying a load of Belgian chocolates which was to be delivered to a location in Maidstone, Kent.
Border Force officers found the tape wrapped packages hidden in two pallets of the chocolates, and in total 63 kilos of heroin and 32 kilos of cocaine were seized.
Officers from the NCA later charged Wilkin with attempting to import a class A drug.
NCA Branch Commander Martin Grace said a time: “This was a significant seizure of class A drugs of the type we see being distributed by violent and exploitative street gangs and county lines networks.
“Working with our law enforcement partners like Border Force we are determined to do all we can to disrupt and dismantle the organised crime groups involved in bringing these drugs to the UK.”
