The Ministry of Foreign Affairs confirms that the remains found inside a crocodile, in South Africa, are those of a Portuguese businessman. SIC knows that the investigation in South Africa continues and the possibility of murder is not ruled out.
Police searches were taking place a few days ago in a city, on the border between South Africa and Mozambique, when a crocodile weighing 600 kilos was detected. The animal’s abnormally swollen abdomen caught the attention of authorities.
Given the suspicions, the police asked for authorization to slaughter the crocodile. Fhi a complex operation, in which the animal had to be lifted from a helicopter after being sedated.
The first investigations carried out by the South African police confirm the suspicions. They belong to a businessman
Gabriel Batista lived in South Africa for 50 years. He was from the parish of Serra de Águain the municipality of Ribeira Brava, in Madeira. He had been missing since the day April 27.
Homicide hypothesis will not be ruled out
The Portuguese Government guarantees that it is following the case and recognizes that it is not yet clear exactly what happened. SIC knows that the investigation in South Africa continues. The authorities will be consider the hypothesis that what happened might not have been an accident.
The version known so far states that the 59-year-old businessman, born in Madeira, tried to crossing a river with a high flow by carin an area with many crocodiles.
The man was reportedly trying to get to a tourist accommodation he owned. But the sources heard by SIC say that the The businessman had a lot of experience and found this version strange.
