Missing rugby and X Factor star Levi Davis 'was £100,000 in debt to Somali ... trends now
Missing rugby and X Factor star Levi Davis was around £100,000 in debt to the Somali mafia and was convinced they had tried to poison him before he vanished in Spain, it was claimed on Wednesday.
Catalan newspaper La Vanguardia said the 24-year-old, who disappeared in Barcelona nearly three months ago, had got himself into huge debt after his party lifestyle spiralled out of control.
An unnamed member of the team of private detectives put together by the British investigator hired by Davis's distraught family, Gavin Burrows, was quoted by the paper as saying: 'Davis came to Barcelona fleeing from these criminals. He had adopted a frenzied lifestyle and was in a very delicate situation.
Former Bath rugby player Levi, 24, (pictured) went missing on October 29 after leaving a friend in Ibiza to get the ferry to Barcelona alone
Now his mother Julie Davis (pictured with an image of herself and Levi) says a private detective working on the case has uncovered that the 5ft 9in rugby star may have been kidnapped by criminals from London in a dispute over money, in what they believe could be a major breakthrough
'The truth is he was sure they were chasing him. In fact he was convinced they had tried to poison him on one occasion.'
The amount he owed was put at around £102,000.
The Somali mafia debt claims surfaced in Spain as it emerged his family were pressing Spanish police to investigate a possible drowning in Barcelona's port before Levi's passport was found nearby. Fears grew that he could have been lured into a trap after arranging to meet someone he had met on social media.
Good Morning Britain (GMB) said early Wednesday morning that Burrows had told the programme he feared Levi may have drowned in Barcelona port.
GMB reporter Nick Dixon mentioned the port area incident, noting that it happened shortly after Levi was last seen.
Dixon added: 'A man was in the water in distress in the port area close to a nearby cruise ship.
'A search was carried out but no body was found and everyone was accounted for, at least on the cruise ship.
'But it was some time later that the police realised Levi's passport was found in that same area.'
The incident was also flagged in overnight reports in Spain, which said workers on the cruise ship had alerted the authorities someone was in the sea but the search was suspended soon afterwards because none of the passengers or crew on board were missing.
Levi's Ibiza-based friend Richard Squire formally reported him missing a few days later after his family informed West Midlands Police he had vanished.
Barcelona police confirmed on November 22 last year that his passport had been found in the city port after Levi's mother Julie revealed it had turned up.
MailOnline obtained CCTV footage showing rugby star Levi Davis leaving the Old Irish Pub on the bustling La Rambla street on October 29 at 10.05pm
Speaking of his fears the missing Brit could have been entrapped by someone on social media, and appearing to explain a mystery Bizum payment Levi was said to have made the day he vanished on October 29 last year, the unnamed investigator told La Vanguardia: 'We know a friend sent him £30 on Bizum so he could play for a place to sleep in.
'And we also know he intended meeting a person he had met on social media, a person he had never actually seen, a person who could give us very valuable information about what occurred.
'Unfortunately we only have a nickname to go on.
Missing posters have been plastered all over Barcelona in an effort to find Levi Davis
'Perhaps it was nothing more than bait offered by the mafia who were looking for him. We can't rule out any hypothesis.'
Depressed Levi was taking a break in Europe after being sidelined from rugby following a knee injury.
He was picked up on CCTV leaving the Old Irish Pub near Barcelona's La Rambla around 10pm on October 29, a few hours after taking a boat from Ibiza with just £35 and no change of clothes.
Friend Richard Squire, who formally reported him missing to cops in Barcelona after his family informed West Midlands police, described his decision to leave the island as 'sudden.'
Levi Davis' mum Julie broke down in tears on Wednesday morning on Good Morning Britain as she recalled the last hug she gave her son before he left for Spain.
She said as she sobbed: 'There's always that mother's instinct. And just before he left there was a message that, I don't know, maybe powers up above, that said to me, 'Give him a hug because you just don't know if it's going to be your last.''
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