A retired Dundee police officer has described the moment he found a dead body in a suitcase while on holiday.
Lindsay Watson, 65, was walking along the promenade in the town of Sliema in Malta on Monday when a case carrying the body parts washed up.
The former CID cop says he initially spotted some kids on a paddle board trying to bring the suitcase ashore.
While they did not suspect anything untoward, his experience in the force told him something was not right.
‘I had 30 years as a cop – you never forget that smell’
Lindsay, from Stobswell, told The Courier: “The kids were trying to bring it ashore.
“Then a chap – who was managing boat tours – was struggling to pull it in.
“We went to go and give him a hand and we joked, ‘Maybe there is cash inside’.
“I had 30 years in the force and as soon as we got close I could smell it.
“We knew quite quickly it wasn’t going to be cash inside – you never forget that smell.
“We partially opened the case and most of the body parts were in black polythene bags.
“I was, however, able to see a chest.”
Lindsay, who retired as a police officer in 2007, then instructed another man to contact local officers.
He continued: “Unfortunately the chap who phoned the emergency services was Italian and I don’t think his Maltese was the best.
“The emergency services thought luggage had simply been pulled out of the water.
“After an hour passed, we called again to explain there was a body in this case.
“Within seconds there were blue lights all over the place and easily 20 officers at the scene.
“We gave statements to the police and later read the stories online in the press in Malta.”
‘It’s nothing like I’ve seen before’
Reports suggest the middle-aged male victim may have been used as a drug mule and an axe was used to cut up his body.
The identity of the man has not yet been revealed.
It is said to be the fifth homicide in Malta this year.
Lindsay, a former Morgan Academy pupil, added: “It’s certainly nothing like I’ve seen before during my time in the police.
“It had been a great holiday but we certainly weren’t expecting to finish it like this.
“Regardless of that experience, we’ll certainly be back.”
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