Two British men feared dead in a double murder in Sweden had crossed into the country to promote their travel agency.
London-based business partners Juan Cifuentes, 33, and Farooq Abdulrazak, 37, are thought to have been killed after firefighters recovered two bodies from a burnt-out car on a dirt road in the coastal city of Malmo on Sunday.
The two friends had reportedly travelled for an overnight trip to Denmark on Sunday to promote their agency, Empire Holidays, and were reported missing by family members after they failed to board their return flight to London.
According to Swedish national newspaper Aftonbladet, the burnt-out car had been rented at Copenhagen airport by a British citizen before the driver and the passenger travelled across the Denmark-Sweden border.
Swedish police said the victims were shot, with the black Toyota Rav4 rental then set on fire.
Authorities have not yet formally identified the bodies, but friends and family have confirmed the identities of the alleged victims.
An “urgent” family appeal which named and pictured the victims was reportedly posted on social media on Tuesday.
‘It’s so hard to take in’
The men were expected to return home at 6pm on Monday “but have not returned nor been contactable”, the post allegedly said.
Family friend Yussef Amiah, 32, told The Telegraph: “It was confirmed yesterday. I’ve just gone to the mosque where we heard the news.”
The married father-of-two played five-a-side football with Mr Abdulrazak twice a week and said his death “doesn’t make sense at all”.
He said: “He was like an older brother to everyone. It’s so hard to take in what’s happened – he’s just so faultless.”
Mr Amiah, who runs an automotive company, added: “From growing up and playing football together, I remember just being a little kid and him giving me advice and helping me to be better.“
Another friend, who did not wish to be named, also confirmed that Mr Abdulrazak and his business partner were the victims in the case.
“There was an announcement at the mosque – it’s pretty certain,” he said.
The friend, who met Mr Abdulrazaq when the pair were teenagers and attends the same North Finchley mosque in London, described him as a “heartwarming person” and said his death was “such a big loss for the community”.
He added: “He was very known for his business Empire Holidays. Everyone used to book their holidays through him.”
Addressing the circumstances of the killings, he said: “I think it’s just a case of wrong place, wrong time. He wouldn’t do anything dodgy. I know that for a fact.”
Laura Cifuentes, the sister of Mr Cifuentes, told The Sun: “There’s no confirmation. There’s no confirmation that they’ve been shot. The bodies are still being identified.
“They were meant to return home and it was meant to be a short business trip.”
Aftonbladet reported that two British businessmen feared murdered had flown from Heathrow Airport to Copenhagen’s Kastrup airport.
At Kastrup, one of the two Britons is reported to have been photographed when he rented a car – the same car that was later found burnt out.
Police, who are investigating the incident as a murder, have appealed for witnesses who saw a black Toyota car in the Fosie industrial estate where the shooting occurred.
Interpol brought in
Kerstin Gossé, of the Swedish police, said: “We are interested in talking to people who have seen the car. It’s a black Danish-registered Toyota of model Rav4.”
As the victims had crossed international borders during their journey, Interpol has also been brought into the investigation.
Police declined to comment on whether the murders were linked to gang violence when questioned by Swedish newspaper Expressen.
Malmo is one of several Swedish cities wrestling with an organised crime wave, while Sweden has the second highest gun crime death rate in Europe after Albania.
Since 2013, the number of shooting incidents has doubled in Sweden, according to statistics, while drug and gun crimes have steadily risen since the early 2000s.
A Foreign Office spokesman said: “We are supporting the families of two British men reported missing in Sweden and are in touch with the local authorities.”
A Metropolitan Police spokesman said: “We continue to liaise with the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office to establish if the deaths of two men in Malmo are related to two men reported missing in north London on Monday July 15.”
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