Searches and excavation on site have lasted more than a month
12:52, 27 Mar 2026Updated 16:06, 27 Mar 2026
Officers remained at the scene today (Friday)(Image: Dylan Hayward)
No remains have been found at an Evington house at the centre of the Gary Piatek murder investigation.
The search at the Broad Avenue address had been ongoing for several weeks as part of the murder investigation into the disappearance of the 60-year-old.
Mr Piatek was last seen in April 2024 and there have been no signs of life since, police said. Officers first descended on Broad Avenue on Tuesday, February 10, with specialist search teams working at the site ever since.
The police operation saw extensive structural work carried out at the property, with the roof removed, doors taken off their hinges and a jackhammer heard inside.
More than 10 vans were seen leaving the scene loaded with evidence over the course of the search.
LeicestershireLive understands one of Britain’s most experienced police dog handlers was among those drafted in, while a no-fly drone restriction was put in place over the area throughout the operation.
A cordon, which had at one point taken in five neighbouring properties, was later scaled back.
Gary Piatek has not been seen since 2024(Image: Leicestershire Police)
The search was described to LeicestershireLive by a former police search lead with more than 30 years’ experience as unlike anything he had encountered, adding that an operation of this scale does not happen without good reason.
Ground penetrating radar (GPR), a technology which can detect disturbances in soil and voids beneath the surface without the need for immediate excavation, is understood to have been among the tools deployed.
Despite the exhaustive operation, searches have now concluded without the discovery of human remains.
Police said the property has been deemed structurally safe by a specialist engineer, with a process now begun to formally hand it over to Leicester City Council, and that a police scene guard which had been in place throughout will be stood down.
Searches had focused to the rear of the property in Broad Avenue.(Image: Leicester Media Online)
Eight people have been charged in connection with the incident. Two men have been charged with Mr Piatek’s murder and are due to stand trial later this year.
Yosif Ibrahim, 43, of Broad Avenue, Leicester, and Omed Firuzman, 25, of Ashley Road, Bournemouth, face the charges.
The others charged in relation to the case of Mr Piatek are:
Diar Muhammedy, 34, of Falmouth Road, Evington, Leicester, and Mabast Khalid, 21, of Manway Close, Birmingham, who are charged with assisting an offender.Dilan Rabati, 34, and Ahmed Nabla, 34, both of Broad Avenue, Evington, have already pleaded not guilty to acquiring, using or having possession of criminal property – namely the house in Broad Avenue belonging to Mr Piatek – between June 2024 and February 2026.Dalya Rabati, 29, of Frazer Nash Close, Isleworth, London, pleaded not guilty to the same charge, as well as fraud in January 2025 in which she is alleged to have created a false tenancy agreement for Mr Piatek’s house.Nazem Kakamando, 50, of Gordon Road, Birmingham, denied acquiring, using or having possession of criminal property, which the magistrates’ court heard was a sum of more than £140,000 in cash, and fraud.
Detective Inspector Mike Chandler, the senior investigating officer, said: “Though we hoped our enquiries at the property would help us establish what happened to Mr Piatek, we have sadly not located his remains. I want to reassure his friends and family that the police investigation continues in the hope of locating him and understanding further what happened.
“Several people have been charged in connection with his death and the case is progressing through the courts. I’d like to thank residents of Broad Avenue and the local community for their co-operation and understanding while our investigation was focussed in their area.”