Gardaí believe the answers to the disappearance of Icelandic poker player Jón Jónsson, who went missing in Dublin six years ago, lie in his home country rather than in Ireland.
Irish detectives searching for clues to Mr Jónsson’s disappearance arrived in Reykjavík on Monday to begin work on the case in Iceland.
“We do think that whatever happened to Jón happened in Ireland, but we also think that the answers to what did happen to Jón lie among the Icelandic community,” Det Supt Alan Brady told The Irish Times.
“We’ve come here to try and find some of those answers.”
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This is the first time that Irish police have travelled to Iceland to investigate the case.
Five members of the An Garda Síochána arrived in the Icelandic capital on Monday where they will remain for the rest of the week.
They began taking statements on Monday morning.
Mr Jónsson went missing on February 9th, 2019, while attending the Dublin Poker Festival at the Bonnington Hotel in Whitehall on the northside of the city. There have been no sightings of the Icelandic man since.
The main objective for gardaí this week is to reach out to the Icelandic community. They are appealing to anybody who may have information in relation to what happened to Mr Jónsson to come forward.
They also want to find answers for Mr Jónsson’s family.
“They have gone through immeasurable heartbreak for the last 6½ years. No family should have to go through that,” said Det Supt Brady.
Gardaí have identified 45 people they wish to speak to, with the investigation focusing on the whole of Iceland.
“We’re here to try and appeal to the public in Iceland. They may have information that they may think is completely irrelevant,” said the detective.
“We’re asking them to come forward and let us decide if that’s irrelevant or not – if they have even the slightest piece of information, to come to us and let us know, and we’ll explore that as well.”
A group of 10 or 12 Icelanders attended the poker tournament in Dublin in 2019.
Not all have been spoken to by gardaí, said Det Insp Jim McDermott. Part of the trip is to identify all those who attended the tournament.
One difference from Ireland is that poker is a clandestine pursuit in Iceland.
“Gambling is illegal in Iceland, so the illicit poker scene is an underground one,” said Det Chief Insp Eiríkur Valberg of the Reykjavík Metropolitan Police.
Det Chief Insp Valberg and Det Supt Brady both stressed the value of the co-operation between the forces – the result of a recent Europol meeting at The Hague.
“We spoke online, but you can’t beat speaking in person, and getting a feel for the person and seeing how you can co-operate,” said Det Supt Brady.
The investigating team has also changed from 2019, with the hope that fresh eyes and a fresh approach this time around may produce new findings.
Det Supt Brady and his team will meet Mr Jónsson’s family today.
“Since we met them in Dublin when they appeared on The Late Late Show, I think we’ve developed quite a good relationship with them,” he said.
[ Gardaí enlist Europol to assist in case of missing Icelandic man Jón JónssonOpens in new window ]
Where is Jón?/Hvar er Jón?, a recent podcast collaboration from RTÉ and Iceland’s counterpart, RÚV, explored various theories of hitmen and mistaken identity. A connection with organised crime has also not been dismissed.
“We’re looking at everything. It’s certainly one of the avenues that we’re exploring but I’d just be speculating to say that at the moment,” said Det Supt Brady.
“We’re not ruling out anything, and we can’t.”
Referring to the podcast, gardaí say it has helped bring the case back into the public domain. The Late Late Show appearance also yielded “strands of information”.
“That’s what we’re looking for. All we need is one little bit that might get us in the right direction,” said Det Supt Brady.
