Tim Hanlon News Reporter and Rory Cassidy Reporter

Jay Slater.
Jay Slater.(Image: Instagram.)

Mark Williams-Thomas has revealed new information about the disappearance of tragic teenager Jay Slater – after speaking to the youngster’s family and other key figures.

The former detective also spoke with witnesses in the case after the 19 year old apprentice bricklayer vanished while holidaying on the Spanish island of Tenerife.

Jay, of Oswaldtwistle, Lancashire, had been to the NRG music festival at the Papagayo nightclub in the Playa de las Americas resort with friends on June 16 last year.

Article continues below

The Mirror reports he is believed to have gone to the Airbnb apartment in the early hours of the next day, then subsequently vanished and was reported missing on June 18.

Mark Williams-Thomas
Ex Britrish Detective Mark Williams-Thomas giving press release on behalf of Jay’s family on the pavement in Adeje, Tenerife.(Image: Stan Kujawa)

His body was found in a steep and inaccessible area by a mountain rescue team from the Spanish Civil Guard near the village of Masca on July 15. Now Mark Williams-Thomas has given his findings on the case.

He said he went to check for CCTV from inside the Papagayo nightclub and was surprised by the smell of drugs on the strip. He revealed that he was told to come back later and then also enquired at another club opposite which didn’t have CCTV.

He said: “I went to a club just across the road which is a club that we know Jay went to, and we know Jay was with the two black men, interestingly enough no CCTV inside, you have to question why.

“Less than 30 seconds after getting out of the vehicle I was approached by a number of men offering me drugs, offering me cannabis, cocaine straight away, actually it is rife along the street.

Get the latest news sent straight to your messages by joining our WhatsApp community today.

You’ll receive daily updates on breaking news as well as the top headlines across Scotland.

No one will be able to see who is signed up and no one can send messages except the Daily Record team.

All you have to do is click here if you’re on mobile, select ‘Join Community’ and you’re in!

If you’re on a desktop, simply scan the QR code above with your phone and click ‘Join Community’.

We also treat our community members to special offers, promotions, and adverts from us and our partners. If you don’t like our community, you can check out any time you like.

To leave our community click on the name at the top of your screen and choose ‘exit group’.

If you’re curious, you can read our Privacy Notice.

“I’ve never walked down a street where you can smell cannabis to the degree it is here, so prevalent, and there are police driving around, no one cares, no one cares at all.”

Mark Williams-Thomas tried to get to the bottom of a photo that Jay Slater had sent to a friend on Snapchat where he had two knives at the Airbnb and said “I’ve got these for my protection”.

Article continues below

But asked about the photo Ayub Qassim said that he know nothing about it. He said: “I was asleep upstairs this is the first I’ve heard of knives. I let him come to my house.”

Recounting his chat with Jay, the morning he left, he said: “He (Jay) said to me pal I’m off, this woman told me I can get a bus every 10 minutes, I told him that he’s mad, there’s no bus that’s coming here every 10 minutes, chill out for a bit and I’ll drop you off later on.

“He said: ‘No, no I’ve got to go to Los Cristianos, I need to scram, I need to chip out’. There’s nothing more that I could do. I saw him walk off maybe down the steps. I maybe shut the door and said if you need me…”

Ayub Qassim, who rented out the Airbnb in Masca where Jay stayed after the festival, told Mark Williams-Thomas how he became “public enemy number one”.

He said: “Lucy (Law) has my Snapchat, so has Brad (Hargreaves) we have each other on social media. I can chat to the mum, I don’t need any of this. I’ve got journalists turning up at my house. I genuinely, from the bottom of my heart, let a guy come to my house.