British father and son who vanished from Spain’s Costa del Sol likely ‘killed in botched drug deal’ as ransom call from Morocco revealed

A BRITISH father and son who disappeared from the Costa del Sol earlier this year were likely shot and killed during a drug deal gone wrong.

That’s what the family of Daniel Poole, 46, and his son, Liam, 22, fear, having not heard from them since April 1.

The pair from Burgess Hill, West Sussex, travelled to Estepona late in March and were last seen alive on April 2.

Family sources previously told the Olive Press that they ‘knew they knew the pair were dead’.

“We will never see them again, they were obviously doing something illegal and it’s gone south,” the source told this paper in June.

“They’ve been going there back and forth, it’s obvious they were involved in something dodgy.”

According to The Times, dad Daniel, a car mechanic with convictions for drug dealing, is related to the notorious London-based Richardson crime family on his mother’s side.

Gang leaders Charlie and Eddie Richardson were alleged to have tortured victims with bolt cutters and pliers during the 1960s.

Kathy Catney, 63, Liam Poole’s grandmother, told The Times that she believes her former son-in-law may have been killed in a failed drug deal.

“I do think Liam’s died. I think he’s been killed. I hope he’s not at the bottom of the sea . . . I hope. People say he is but I want the chance for people to give him back to me,” she said.

“I think [Liam’s] dad got into some bother and Liam got caught in the crossfire.”

“We always suspected [Daniel] was up to no good but we just didn’t ask questions,” she said.

“He was going to Spain to do some sort of deal. Whether that was property or drugs, I really didn’t know.”

The pair had made three trips to Malaga in the four months before they vanished.

A source told this paper: “Liam was such a good boy, he was smart and has obviously been influenced and dragged into this mess, it’s so tragic.”

The young computer technician had no criminal record.

The Costa del Sol is one of the busiest coasts for drug trafficking, with hashish arriving from Morocco every day.

The family received a ransom demand for over €100,000 the day after Daniel and Liam disappeared.

The ransom was never made public but according to The Times, police traced the call to a phone in Morocco.

Catney reportedly managed to raise the money from family members within just three hours – it’s not clear whether the ransom was paid.

The family’s story will be featured on Inside Out with Glen Campbell on BBC One at 19.20 in the UK tonight, which will feature the Olive Press.