Police investigating the disappearance of a man from Leicester last seen more than a year ago, have started digging at a property in the city.
Detectives have arrested 11 people on suspicion of murder.
In a statement on Thursday, they named the missing man as 60-year-old Gary Piatek, who has been missing since April 2024.
Building machinery and digging teams are involved in a thorough search at an address in Broad Avenue in Evington, east of the city centre, as part of the inquiry into Mr Piatek’s disappearance, Leicestershire Police said.
Nine suspects arrested on Tuesday remain in police custody, the force said in a statement on Thursday.
Officers believe there has been “no proof of life” of Mr Piatek since April 2024 and “specialist support is being provided to a number of his close friends”.
The statement warned locals to expect a significant amount of police activity at the address over the coming days and weeks, including specially trained search officers, building machinery and crime scene investigators.
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Senior Investigating Officer, Detective Inspector Michael Chandler, from the East Midlands Special Operations Unit, appealed for the public’s help as detectives “establish the full circumstances of what has happened to Mr Piatek”.
He said the inquiry is not linked to terrorism.
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Six men aged 61, 43, 34, 33, 25 and 21, and two women aged 34 and 29, who were arrested on suspicion of murder remain in custody.
A ninth person, a 50-year-old man, was arrested on suspicion of assisting an offender and also remains in police custody.
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Two men, aged 25 and 23, arrested on suspicion of murder have been released under investigation while inquiries continue.
A 23-year-old woman arrested for the same offence has been released from custody with no further action to be taken.
