LONDON – British detectives are asking for help in identifying a man with a connection to Pakistan whose body was found in Saddleworth, near Oldham in Greater Manchester.
On Saturday 12 December 2015, the body of the man was found on a nearby hill, and was late found to have died of Strychnine poisoning – an extremely potent rat poison which is not sold in the UK and many other countries in Europe.
At the time of his death, he was described as being white, of slim build, had a receding hairline with grey hair to the side and back, had a large nose which may have been previously broken and was clean shaven.
A full examination of the body was carried out by a Manchester-based Consultant Histopathologist which determined that the man had previously suffered an extra capsular fracture of the left femur (thigh bone) and had a titanium plate inserted into his hip to secure the fracture. Further analysis of the plate found that it had been manufactured by a company in Pakistan and was only supplied to fifteen hospitals in the country. Police have managed to narrow down the date of the operation to insert the plate as taking place sometime between 2001 and 2013.
The plate was fixed using Dynamic Hip Screws (DHS) as is standard practice; however the fracture itself was secured using a second screw which was not connected to the plate. This is extremely uncommon and would likely stick in the memory of anyone involved in the procedure.
Detective Sergeant John Coleman of Greater Manchester Police said:
“The last few months have been complex to say the least but we remain determined as ever to identify this man and bring some closure to the investigation.
“We have received numerous calls from the public offering help but now we are appealing solely and directly to the surgical team which carried out the operation to fit a titanium plate in his leg.
“It is quite a unique method of securing the plate and fracture and is one that we, along with colleagues in the medical field, believe will be easily recognisable to those who operated on him.
“If you recognise the photofit of this man or the method used during this procedure then please contact us, we are very keen to speak to you in the hope that we can finally identify this man and inform his lived ones who must be worried sick wondering where he is.”
X-ray images of the fracture site have been shared with the Pakistan Orthopaedic Society in a bid to narrow down the search for information further.
Anybody with information should email the investigation team on dovestones@gmp.police.uk
