Man found dead at Sliabh Liag was due for trial over €6.6m drugs cargo

The man whose body was found in the water off Sliabh Liag on Monday was due to stand trial for smuggling over €6.6 million worth of drugs.

It is expected that a murder probe will be launched after human remains were recovered in the early hours of Monday following a week-long search operation.

Donegal Live understands that the man at the centre of the investigation is Robert Wilkin, who is aged in his late 60s and originally from County Tyrone.

Two years ago, Wilkin was found with a huge cache of heroin and cocaine kidding in a shipment of chocolates.

His Polish-registered lorry was stopped at the Coquelles Channel Tunnel terminal on August 12, 2021. The cargo was bound for Maidstone when offices found the drugs concealed in two pallets of chocolate with 63kg of heroin and 32kg of cocaine found. A National Crime Agency official described the find as ‘a significant seizure of class A drugs of the type we see being distributed by violent and exploitative street gangs’.

At the time, he was living in Essex and was charged with a trial due in October of this year at Folkestone Magistrates Court in England.

He is believed to have been living in south Donegal in recent times.

A post-mortem was carried out by Dr Linda Mulligan, the State Pathologist, at Letterkenny University Hospital on Tuesday, the results of which have not been released due to ‘operational reasons’.

Pending those results and a formal identification, a murder inquiry is expected to be launched by Gardai. The matter has so-far been dealt with as a serious assault.

An incident room as been established at Ballyshannon Garda Station under the direction of a Senior Investigating Officer.

A major investigation was launched last week after reports that a man who was allegedly assaulted had gone missing.

Two people, a man in his 30s and a woman in her 20s, were arrested and questioned last Monday and Tuesday before being released without charge. A file has been submitted to the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP). The man had initially been arrested on suspicion of drink-driving and was rearrested as he left Letterkenny courthouse on June 26.

The two were in a car which crashed and they were detained at separate Garda stations.

The car, belonging to the arrested man, was seized by Gardai after a warrant was obtained. It is understood that the car was splattered with blood, while a blood-soaked blanket has also been seized by detectives.

A house on the outskirts of Killybegs was sealed off last Monday. Members of the Garda forensics team carried out a search of the property and uniformed Gardai remained at the scene through the week.

The Sliabh Liag cliffs were closed to the public for much of last week as Gardai combed the area for clues.

On Thursday, the Garda Water Unit set up at Teelin Pier, a few kilometres from the cliffs and carried out further searches.

Gardai continue to appeal for witnesses to come forward.

A Garda spokesperson said: “Any road users travelling in these areas, at this time, who may have camera footage (including dash-cam) are asked to make this footage available to Gardaí.

“Anyone with any information is asked to contact Ballyshannon Garda Station on 071 985 8530, the Garda Confidential Line on 1800 666 111, or any Garda station.”