Police name the man at the centre of a murder investigation in Leicester
60-year-old Gary Piatek was last seen in April 2024
A man whose disappearance is at the centre of an ongoing murder investigation has been named as 60-year-old Gary Piatek.
Twelve people were arrested in connection with the murder of Mr Piatek on Tuesday (10 February). Nine remain in police custody.
Enquiries have determined that Mr Piatek was last seen in April 2024. There has been no proof of life of him since then.
Specialist support is being provided to a number of his close friends.
As part of the ongoing investigation, a detailed search is being carried out at an address in Broad Street in Evington. A significant amount of police activity will remain ongoing at this address over the coming days and weeks, including specially trained search officers, building machinery and crime scene investigators. The searches include digging into the ground at the property.
Senior Investigating Officer, Detective Inspector Michael Chandler from the East Midlands Special Operations Unit, said:
“Our investigation is still very much in its early stages, with a large amount of police activity ongoing. This is likely to be the case for a number of weeks yet.
“We are continuing to establish the full circumstances of what has happened to Mr Piatek and as part of our ongoing enquiries, I am appealing to anyone who has any information in relation to him or in relation to what has happened to him to make contact with us. We want to speak to anyone who may know something – anything – about him. Those in the community may hold the key to understanding what has happened.
“I appreciate I am asking people to think back a long time, but anything, no matter how small you think it is, could help us. Please do get in touch with us.
“I do understand that there will be a number of questions and concerns. Officers remain in the area and are there to speak with you and to offer reassurance to you. Please do speak to them. Thank you to everyone for your ongoing cooperation and support at this time as we continue to investigate.
“I will take this opportunity again to reiterate that this is not a Counter Terrorism policing operation and there is no connection to Counter Terrorism.”
Six men, aged 61, 43, 34, 33, 25 and 21, and two women, aged 34 and 29, were arrested on suspicion of murder. A ninth person, a 50-year-old man was arrested on suspicion of assisting an offender. These remain in police custody.
Two men, aged 25 and 23, arrested on suspicion of murder, have been released under investigation while enquiries continue. A woman, aged 23, arrested for the same offence was released from custody on Wednesday (11 February) with no further action to be taken.