A man has reportedly been arrested in London after two suitcases containing body parts were discovered, however police say they are continuing their manhunt.
The man was arrested early this morning, however authorities have declined to say what he has been arrested on suspicion of.
It is understood he is not the same man the police have been appealing for information on, following the release of a photograph yesterday.
A spokesman for the Met Police said: ‘A man, aged 36, was arrested at an address in Greenwich early on Friday, 12, July. He has been taken into custody where he remains. This is not the same man we are appealing for.’
A man has reportedly been arrested in London after two suitcases containing body parts were discovered, however police say they are continuing their manhunt
The man was arrested early this morning, however authorities have declined to say what he has been arrested on suspicion of.
The man was arrested early this morning, however authorities have declined to say what he has been arrested on suspicion of
Police and forensic officers and at an address in Shepherd’s Bush, west London
The manhunt for the suspect who dumped suitcases containing the body parts of two adult men is still ongoing
The manhunt for the suspect who dumped suitcases containing the body parts of two adult men is still ongoing.
Detectives are searching a house in Shepherd’s Bush as it is believed the men were murdered and dismembered in the West London suburb, with the Metropolitan Police taking over the investigation.
A helicopter was circling above the crime scene on Friday afternoon in Shepherd’s Bush, as four police officers guarded tape which cordoned off an area of bins below a high-rise building.
A Met Police spokesperson said: ‘Over the last 48 hours, we have been working closely with our colleagues from Avon and Somerset Police.
‘Their enquiries established that the man they are seeking in connection with the discovery of human remains may have travelled to Bristol from London.
‘As a result, the Met is now leading the investigation and the search to find the man wanted in connection with this incident.
‘We are drawing on resources from across the Met to arrest this individual, with detectives working at pace.’
Forensic officers at an address in Shepherd’s Bush, west London
A police officer at an address in Shepherd’s Bush, west London, after human remains were found in two suitcases near the Clifton Suspension Bridge in Bristol
Police on the scene at Scotts Road in Shepherd’s Bush, London today
A police officer by a cordon in place near an address in Shepherd’s Bush, west London
Police issued this image of a man they would like to speak in connection with the suitcases
A police officer by a cordon in place near an address in Shepherd’s Bush, west London
Police have set up a cordon in Shepherd’s Bush as they hunt a suspect seen dumping two suitcases full of human remains on Clifton Suspension bridge
Police officers guarded tape which cordoned off an area of bins below a high-rise building in Shepherd’s Bush on Friday evening
A forensics tent set up on Clifton Suspension Bridge where the two suitcases full of human remains were found
Police launched a manhunt after suitcases full of body parts were discovered on Clifton Suspension Bridge on Wednesday night
A map of Clifton Suspension Bridge in relation to the city of Bristol
Local resident Anthony Priest, 85, said: ‘I heard them all tearing down here in the early hours of the morning. ‘I heard a police car coming down, with lights flashing. It must have been about half past three.’
Police believe the suspect, a bearded black man wearing a black Adidas baseball cap, black jeans and black trainers with thick white soles, travelled to Bristol on Wednesday evening, carrying the suitcases with him.
A manhunt was launched yesterday for the suspect who is thought to have abandoned the suitcases before he was able to throw them from the 250ft bridge into the gorge below.
Just before midnight on Wednesday, the police were alerted by bridge staff about a man acting ‘suspiciously’.
But by the time officers arrived, the man had fled the scene, leaving his luggage behind.
He is believed to have left the bridge in the direction of Leigh Woods with one witness saying he was pursued by a cyclist.
A picture of the moment bridge staff uncovered the grisly contents of the cases has now emerged, showing two men in high-vis vests using torches to investigate.
Police have warned the public not to approach the man and dial 999 if they recognise him from the description.
A police cordon was set up around a block of flats in Shepherd’s Bush on Friday evening
A picture of the moment staff at the bridge uncovered the grisly contents of the cases has now emerged, showing two men in high-vis vests investigating with torches
A yellow sack with a biohazard warning label was pictured behind police tape at the scene of the incident
An aerial shot of a forensic tent on the Clifton Suspension Bridge on July 11
Forensic investigators in white suits seen working behind a police cordon on Clifton Suspension bridge
Locals who saw the man lugging the cases in Clifton say he was struggling to lift one of them.
There is local speculation that it may have been weighted so it would sink to the bottom of the River Avon when thrown over the side of the historic toll bridge.
Locals also claim police were examining two gouges in the pavement leading up to the bridge, caused by the heavy suitcase being dragged.
Police have carried out a post-mortem examination but it was inconclusive. A second remains ongoing.
Assistant Bristol Commander Supt Vicks Hayward-Melen told a press conference: ‘They discovery of human remains in two suitcases on the Clifton suspension bridge on Wednesday night has understandably caused shock and deep concern.
‘It is believed the man had travelled to the Clifton area of Bristol earlier on Wednesday before taking a taxi to the Clifton Suspension Bridge where the suitcases were unloaded.
‘There is also a crime scene at Shepherd’s Bush.
Police at the scene near Clifton Suspension Bridge, Bristol
An aerial view of a forensic tent on the Clifton Suspension Bridge
Officers were called to reports of a man seen acting suspiciously on Clifton Suspension Bridge in Bristol (pictured) shortly before 12am on Wednesday
‘Forensic post mortem examinations are still being carried out but are believed to be that of two adult males.
Supt Hayward-Melen added: ‘It is important to stress that they have not been formally identified at this time and efforts to locate and speak to their next of kin are being prioritised.
‘The search for the man we released photographs of yesterday is now being led by the Metropolitan Police. There is no information to suggest he remains in the Avon and Somerset area.’
Deputy Assistant Commissioner Andy Valentine, who is leading the investigation for the Met, said: ‘Over the last 48 hours we have been working extremely closely with colleagues from Avon and Somerset.
‘This work leads us to believe the man we need to speak to travelled to Bristol from London earlier on Wednesday evening.’
Giles Malone spoke about his encounter with a man wanted by police over human remains found in a suitcase
A forensics tent set up on the Clifton Suspension Bridge, where the two suitcases were found
The shocking revelation comes as drinkers celebrating England’s victory in the Euros semi-final unwittingly asked the suspect if ‘heavy’ suitcase had bodies inside.
An American tourist who was waiting for a taxi on the bridge on Wednesday evening with his wife claims he saw ‘two men getting out of a car and lugging heavy-looking suitcases’ across the road.
The pair had been waiting for a taxi close to the bridge, having watched the Three Lions beat the Netherlands to secure a place in the final against Spain.
A female passerby, is said to have observed two men struggling to carry the ‘heavy’ looking cases across the road intervened to help them and joked about their contents, Giles Malone claimed.
She said to them: ‘These are the heaviest suitcases I’ve ever lifted. What’s in them? Bodies’.
‘We sort of semi-joked about it but they didn’t say anything,’ he said.
Mr Malone believes there were two men carrying the suitcases but so far the police have only issued a picture of one man they want to speak to.
He told LBC: ‘My wife and I were watching the football game with my dad in Clifton Village and we left my dad’s flat at 10.30pm after the football game.
‘We were waiting for an Uber on the corner by the pub and we were stood there waiting for our car.
‘A man and another man got out of another car across the street and they were lifting these suitcases across the road for some reason, right by us.’
Mr Malone who lives in Florida but has family in the West Country, explained he thought little of the incident until he was on the way to play golf the morning after.
‘I was coming across the bridge to go up to Long Ashton and my dad says it was closed (the bridge) because there was a national news item about some suitcases found,’ he said.
‘I immediately looked at my wife and said: ‘I wonder if that is a coincidence from last night?’.’
The incident has sparked a massive emergency response
A forensics officer collecting evidence at the scene in Bristol
The suitcases were described by Mr Malone as ‘old’ and ‘tatty’, while he described one of the two men he saw as black and the other as white.
The 250ft bridge linking Clifton in Bristol to Leigh Woods over the Avon gorge is covered by central barriers and safety nets to prevent people from committing suicide.
The rest of the bridge is not covered by netting, with a drop to the road below.
Yesterday, police ruled out that the discovery was in anyway connected to the disappearance of missing law graduate Jack O’Sullivan.
While police said they had been in touch with Jack’s family ‘to inform them of the incident’, they added ‘no parallels are being actively drawn’ between the two cases.
The 23-year-old has not been seen since he went to a house party in Bristol on March 2 and his family are continuing to plead for information on his whereabouts.
Locals are praying the body in the suitcases is not linked to the disappearance of 23-year-old local man Jack Sullivan
The Clifton Suspension Bridge, which links Bristol to Somerset, is to remain closed all day due to the police incident. Pictured is the road leading to the bridge
A police officer speaks with a member of the forensics team at the scene
A taxi – believed to be a blue Hackney cab – is undergoing a forensic examination while the driver is helping police in their bid to identify the man.
Concerned resident Michael Mulcahy, 57, said: ‘It’s horrific to think someone has been chopped up and put in a suitcase.
‘I think the guy must have gone there with the intention of chucking them over the side of the bridge.
‘But those safety rails are very high – it would take some effort to pitch a heavy suitcase over the top.’
Mr Mulcahy said it was worrying that such a gruesome crime had happened so close to the Georgian suburb of Clifton, famed for its upmarket restaurants, boutiques and independent shops.
He added: ‘Britain is becoming such a violent place right now. I feel sorry for the emergency services who discovered the contents of the suitcase.’
