A shopkeeper who disappeared more than five years ago was found alive and well just days after a group of suspects was arrested for his murder, police said.
Ismail Ali was last seen leaving his job at Gulam Food Stores in the city of Bradford in West Yorkshire, England the afternoon of May 29, 2020, BBC News reported. His disappearance sparked an intense search, but authorities uncovered no sign of the missing man. He was 46 years old at the time, and investors had long believed he disappeared under suspicious circumstances.
Then, on Wednesday, Ali “turned up at the police station,” telling officers that he was “safe and well,” police said in an update on Thursday.
“Officers are working to understand the full circumstances surrounding his disappearance,” it said. “Mr. Ali’s family have been notified that he has been found safe and well and is being safeguarded whilst necessary checks are being made.”
His reappearance comes just days after authorities announced the arrests of five people — three women aged 47, 54 and 55 and two men aged 27 and 51 — in connection with Ali’s presumed murder. An investigation into the matter is ongoing.
Despite Ali’s return, all five suspects remain in custody. A spokesperson for the police department told People they “remain on police bail in relation to money laundering offences.”
“Following the arrests on Monday, house searches were carried out at three properties and a large amount of cash was seized,” the spokesperson said, adding that “enquiries will remain ongoing for some time into the money laundering offences.”
Few other details were provided.
