This is the first picture of the Co Tyrone man who it is suspected was thrown off a cliff in Donegal.
The body recovered from the water beside Slieve League on Monday is thought to be Robin Wilkin, who was due to stand trial on drug smuggling charges.
Locals knew him widely as Robin, but he also went by the name of Robert Wilkin, aged in his late 60s and worked as a lorry driver.
Read more: Last moments of NI man 'thrown off cliff' in Donegal
But he had spent various stints in Donegal over the past 15 to 20 years, employed with different haulage companies around Killybegs. Over the years he resided in the town and two nearby villages, Mountcharles and Dunkineely.
One of his former employers told the Irish Mirror that he never had any issues with Wilkin and that he had a great work ethic.
He said: “I won’t have a bad word said about that man. He was sound and a brilliant worker. He’d be in the yard at 6.45am in the morning with the lorry loaded and gone by 7am.
“The one thing I’d say about him is, he was easily led. But in my experience, that man wouldn’t do ya a bad turn. There’s no way he deserved to die like that.”
Wilkin had resurfaced in the area in recent weeks, but was due to stand trial in the UK in October over a multi-million euro seizure.
In August 2021, officers from the National Crime Agency arrested him after his lorry was stopped at Coquelles Channel Tunnel with €6million worth of cocaine and heroin on board.
The drugs were hidden in pallets of Belgian chocolates.
Gardai expect that the DNA taken from Wilkin’s relatives in the UK to officially confirm his identity today.
Donegal gardai have been investigating the incident since it was reported to them on Monday, June 26.
They received a tip-off from a member of the public saying that a woman disclosed that a man had been beaten with a rock and thrown off a cliff.
Another man who knew Wilkin said: “If it wasn’t for the good samaritan who rang the gardai, this might not have ever been recorded.
“Everyone would have thought he was gone away to the UK again. Robin came in and out many times over the years. That’s just the life he led.”
As revealed this week, Wilkin was last seen in public enjoying live music at Mac’s Bar in Dunkineely with two people hours before his horror death.
Gardai are studying CCTV from inside the bar and believe the pair may hold vital clues on the victim’s last movements.
As the search was ongoing for the body, Donegal gardai gathered significant evidence which included a seized car with bloodstains and other camera footage.
A house in the vicinity of Killybegs was also closed off and searched by gardai for a number of days.
But now gardai from the National Bureau of Criminal Investigation have been drafted in to assist in the case.
A female suspect in the case is in a medical facility receiving treatment due to her poor mental health.
The male suspect, a man in his 30s, has not been seen in the Killybegs area for over a week. It is believed he may be couch surfing in the Letterkenny area, after reports of him shoplifting and drinking in a popular pub there.
The man - who is suspected of biting a part of another man’s ear off in a vicious assault - had previously ran a successful business abroad before returning in recent years.
Gardai have not made any fresh arrests since the body find on Monday. It was initially an assault probe but all the resources of a murder investigation have been allocated to it.
Investigators have received the post-mortem results but details are not being released for “operational reasons”, garda HQ said.
A statement added: “An incident room has been established at Ballyshannon Garda Station under the direction of a Senior Investigating Officer.
“Investigating Gardaí continue to appeal to any persons travelling in the vicinity of Slieve League/ Killybegs between the afternoon of Saturday 24th June 2023 and the evening of Sunday 25th June 2023 who observed any activity which drew their attention to come forward.
“Any road users travelling in these areas, at this time, who may have camera footage (including dash-cam) are asked to make this footage available to Gardaí.
“Anyone with any information is asked to contact Ballyshannon Garda Station on 071 985 8530, the Garda Confidential Line on 1800 666 111, or any Garda station.”
For all the latest news, visit the Belfast Live homepage here and sign up to our daily newsletter.
