French murder suspect arrested in Scotland after 8 years on the run

One of France's most wanted men has been arrested in Glasgow following a tip-off by French authorities. He was subject to an international arrest warrant for the 2011 murder of his wife and four children.

The man believed to be Xavier Dupont de Ligonnes, was stopped at Glasgow airport on Friday after arriving on a flight from Paris, according to two French sources close to the investigation.

The sources confirmed a fingerprint match had been made but one said a DNA analysis was being conducted to be "totally sure" it was him.

The attorney general in Nantes said on Friday night French police would be travelling to Glasgow today to continue the investigation.

Meanwhile, police have carried out a search in Limay, in the Yvelines region outside of Paris, at an address listed in connection to the passport of the suspect, who was travelling under the name G. Joao.

One source said Dupont de Ligonnes was travelling on a stolen French passport and had likely spent part of his time on the run in Britain.

French newspaper Liberation reported that Dupont de Ligonnes had undergone plastic surgery to change his appearance, citing police sources.

Methodical execution
The 58-year-old is suspected of shooting his family dead in April 2011 and burying them under the terrace of their elegant townhouse in the western city of Nantes.

Their bodies were found three weeks after the killings.

French prosecutors have said he killed all five of his victims in a "methodical execution", shooting them each twice in the head at close range with a weapon fitted with a silencer.

He is believed to have covered them in quicklime and wrapped them in sheets before burying them under concrete.

For years France has been gripped by the question of how Dupont de Ligonnes had disappeared without trace, with some suggesting he may have killed himself. Hundreds of reported sightings only added to the mystery.

The man "remains in police custody in connection with a European Arrest Warrant issued by the French Authorities", a Police Scotland spokeswoman said.

(With AFP)