UK police officers have joined the investigation into the disappearance of Britons believed dead after two bodies were found in a burnt-out car – while a football club pays tribute to one.
Britons Juan Cifuentes, 33, and Farooq Abdulrazak, 27, disappeared during a business trip to Denmark and Sweden this week.
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On Sunday, two bodies were found shot to death in a burned-out car in an industrial area in the Swedish city of Malmö.
Police are working on the theory that they are the bodies of children’s soccer coach Cifuentes and his friend Abdulrazak.
Welwyn Garden City FC paid tribute to Cifuentes, who played for the team, calling him a “great person”.
Posting on X, formerly Twitter, a club spokesperson said: “Everyone at the club is saddened and shocked by yesterday’s news of the passing of Juan Cifuentes.
“Juan was part of our team that won twice in 2014-15. A very good player and a great person.
“We send our condolences to all his family, friends and former teammates. RIP Juan.”
A family source told The Sun: “They are both nice, normal guys, everyone is shocked and waiting to hear from Sweden.”
They said the missing man from Cifuentes is a family man who coaches children’s football in north London.
On Thursday, a Met Police spokeswoman confirmed they had joined the investigation.
A spokeswoman said: “We continue to co-operate with the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office to establish whether the deaths of two men in Malmo, Sweden, are linked to two men reported missing in north London on Monday 15 July”.
Part of that investigation will consist of combing through CCTV, with recently released footage of the pair inside Copenhagen Airport’s car rental office.
Police officers said a black Toyota Rav 4 was filmed crossing the Oresund Bridge into Sweden on the day they died with three people inside, Sydsvenskan reports.
Investigators are also looking into the third man, who was in close contact with the British man who rented the car, Aftonbladet reports.
Laura Cifuentes, sister of missing Juan, told The Sun: “There is no confirmation. There is no confirmation that they were shot. The bodies are still being identified.
“They were supposed to go home and it would be a short business trip.”
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Painfully, Cifuentes admitted that “there are probably [a] 99% chance” that the bodies are those of his brother and his friend, but said the two families will await official confirmation from Swedish police.
Both victims died before the car was set on fire and dumped in the Fosie industrial park, according to Swedish media.
Swedish police say they “have an idea who they are” but have not been able to publicly identify any of the victims.
The men allegedly ran a travel company, Empire Holidays.
A post on an Empire Holidays Facebook page on Thursday said: “This is very difficult to say, but it is with a heavy heart that we inform you that the owner of Empire Holidays (Farooq) has sadly passed away.”
Everyone at the club is sad and shocked by the news yesterday of Juan Cifuentes’ passing
Welwyn Garden City FC
He added, “Please keep Farooq and Juan in your Duas and may they reach the highest level of Jannah. Ameen.”
The post assured customers that all holidays booked by the company were still active and would go ahead.
Swedish police said the victims were shot on Sunday, with their Toyota Rav4 set on fire in an industrial area of the city in southern Sweden.
According to Swedish national newspaper Aftonbladet, the car was rented at Copenhagen airport in Denmark by a British citizen before the driver and passenger crossed the border into Sweden and Malmo.
A Swedish police spokesman said: “The two people who were found dead in a burnt-out car on Sunday afternoon have not yet been identified.
“The bodies are being examined by forensic medicine. The incident is being investigated as a homicide.
“Several witnesses have been interviewed and police are interested in further observations and tips. If you have information that may be of interest to the police, please call +46 77-114 14 00.”
Interpol is also reportedly involved in the ongoing investigation.
Inside Malmo’s crime-ridden underworld
PARTS of Sweden are rife with gang activity, plagued by executions, bomb attacks and child soldiers plaguing the streets.
Innocent passers-by have been shot dead in recent years as a country once considered peaceful and safe becomes a terrifying gangster paradise.
Sweden has been battling gang violence for decades, but its latest rise has been exceptional – fueled by notorious drug lords nicknamed the Kurdish Fox and The Greek.
Police were placed on standby, ready to prevent brutal killings and explosions – and the country’s leaders even prepared to deploy the military.
Human lives and family homes have fallen victim to the ongoing gang war as the country alarmingly reaches its highest level of children prosecuted for homicide since 2019.
Much of the violence is concentrated in large cities such as Stockholm, Gothenburg, Malmö and Uppsala.
Malmö was even dubbed one of the worst cities in Northern Europe for gang crime in one tourism review.
Manne Gerell, a Swedish criminologist and senior lecturer at Malmö University, previously told the Financial Times that shootings and bombings in the city are rife.
He said: “It seems almost random – it could happen to anyone, anywhere. It becomes more akin to terrorism.”
One gang member told public broadcaster SVT: “If my family is in danger, everyone’s family is in danger,” as police officers face at least 150 homes that could be targets for shooting or bombings.
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This story originally appeared on The-sun.com read the full story
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