An uncle accused of murdering his 18-year-old niece in an honour killing in Italy after she refused an arranged marriage in Pakistan has been arrested in Paris.
Danish Hasnain was tracked down by social media to a house in the Garges les Gonesse area not far from the Saint Denis stadium which was raided by French police at the request of the Italian carabinieri on Monday.
The 33-year-old, who was staying with Pakistani compatriots, had no identity papers but was easily recognised by the distinctive mole on his brow.
He is allegedly the mastermind in the murder of Saman Abbas who went missing at the end of April after telling her family she had a boyfriend in Italy and wanted to live a 'Western' lifestyle.
Italian police say that Hasnain carried out the killing in a conspiracy involving Saman's father Shabbar, 46, mother Nazia Shaheen, 47, as well as her cousins Nomanulhaq Nomanulahq and Ijaz Ikram, 33 and 28.
Her body has still not been found but is believed to have been buried in a field not far from the family home in the town of Novellara, in the northern province of Reggio Emilia.
Italian prosecutor Emilia Isabella Chiesi told a press conference: 'From the investigations we made, I believe that he was certainly the mastermind of this crazy criminal project.'
Danish Hasnain (pictured) was tracked down by social media to a house in the Garges les Gonesse area not far from the Saint Denis stadium which was raided by French police at the request of the Italian carabinieri on Monday. The 33-year-old, who was staying with Pakistani compatriots, had no identity papers but was easily recognised by the distinctive mole on his brow.
Saman Abbas, 18, went missing at the end of April after telling her family she had a boyfriend in Italy and wanted to live a 'Western' lifestyle.
Saman's cousin Ijaz was arrested in France in June on suspicion of murder and extradited back to Italy.
Her parents Shabbar and Nazia are in Pakistan and have denied murder of their daughter.
The whereabouts of her cousin Nomanulhaq remains unknown.
Prosecutors say the case dates back to autumn last year, when the family tried to force Saman into an arranged marriage in her native Pakistan.
Saman fled the family home after an argument and since October had been living in a refuge run by social services, fearing for her safety.
But she returned home on April 11 this year, apparently to collect identity documents - though it is unclear exactly why she needed them.
Police believe that by April 26 the family had begun preparing for her murder.
That is the date on which uncle Hasnain is alleged to have bought plane tickets for her parents to fly back to Pakistan, prosecutors say.
Then, on the evening of April 29, CCTV captured three men who police say are Hasnain, Nomanulhaq and Ijaz walking into fields behind the farm around 7.30pm.
Saman (pictured) is thought to have enraged relatives by telling them she had a boyfriend in Italy and wanted to live a 'Western' life
The trio are carrying two shovels,
