John George murder suspect from NI to be extradited to Spain

The 26-year-old from Belfast appeared in court this morning in the northern Portuguese city of Guimaraes following his arrest on Tuesday at an Airbnb a half-drive north in Braga.

The extradition hearing took place behind-closed doors as is normal at such proceedings in both Portugal and Spain, where Smyth was put on a wanted list in January after disappearing following the discovery of missing dad-of-two John George’s body in an orchard in Rojales near the Costa Blanca resort of Torrevieja.

Well-placed sources close to the case said after it finished: “Smyth did not oppose his extradition so it should be very quick, around two weeks.

“The judge he went before ordered his remand in preventive detention in the meantime.”

Portuguese police confirmed Smyth’s arrest yesterday, clarifying he had been the only person who had been held and would be facing extradition proceedings after a solicitor for Belfast man John George’s family initially pointed to two arrests being made.

Police insiders later revealed he had been held on an international arrest warrant issued by a Spanish court at an unnamed Airbnb in Braga, a city in the far north of Portugal which is considered its religious centre and is just a 50-minute drive from the Spanish border.

They said the holiday property booking had been made in Smyth’s girlfriend’s name and confirmed she was with him when he was arrested but was not taken into custody. Her whereabouts today was unknown.

It is because she made the reservation that he is thought to have managed to stay in the Airbnb where he was captured for around a month without detection.

He is said to have tried to fool Spanish cops into thinking he was in the Middle East with photos he posted online, although it is not yet clear where he stayed before arriving in Braga.

Once Smyth is returned to Spain he will be summoned before the investigating judge probing John George’s murder so his continued preventive detention in Spain ahead of a probable trial can be ratified.

Any formal charges would be laid later on once the judge finishes his criminal probe.

Suspects can be held in preventive custody in Spain without trial for up to four years, although the normal time limit is two and extensions are a rarity.

It is not unheard of for murder suspects to be released on bail beforehand with strict conditions.

Gym owner Smyth was made a wanted man on January 21, with court officials on the Costa Blanca confirming the same day national and international arrest warrants had been issued for the man suspected of murdering John George.

Mr George, 37, vanished on December 14 last year and relatives reported him missing when he failed to catch a scheduled flight home four days later after what was meant to be a short holiday.

By December 23 his family had launched a GoFundMe campaign to aid a search, voicing concerns he had been the victim of a crime.

John’s brother Darren travelled to Alicante to help in the search with their parents, Billy and Sharon, and sister Courtney and Caitlin, along with up to 50 friends and wider family from Northern Ireland.

Members of K9 Search And Rescue NI, a volunteer canine search team, also spent several days assisting with the wide-scale operation to find the missing man.

News Catch Up - Thursday 27 March

His body was discovered on January 7, hidden under overgrown lemon trees around five miles from the town of Rojales.

A man arrested later the same day on suspicion of homicide was hauled to court on January 10 after nearly 72 hours in police custody.

He told the judge he was being scapegoated because John’s family had named him on social media as one of the suspects.

His Costa Blanca-based defence lawyer Manuel Ramon Rives also attributed the decision to detain him to his “recent friendship” with a man he said police were then hunting as the alleged perpetrator.

John’s dad had named and pictured Smyth on his social media, claiming he was the main suspect before Spanish authorities confirmed they had issued arrest warrants in January.

He had previously been described as being among the last people to see John George alive.

A spokesman for the Civil Guard in Alicante, which has been very tight-lipped about its investigation and is refusing requests for interviews, said today: “‘In the framework of Operation Resistente, carried out by the Territorial Judicial Police Team of Pilar de la Horadada for a crime of intentional homicide of an Irish citizen in the municipality of Rojales, we have received information through SIRENE of the arrest on March 25th.

“The arrest was made by the Portuguese police in compliance with a European Arrest Warrant issued by Court of Instruction Number Two in Torrevieja.”