JAY SLATER ENDED UP AT REMOTE AIRBNB BECAUSE 'FRIENDS HAD LEFT HIM'

• Ayub Qassim invited Jay back to his rented cottage hours before he vanished 

Jay Slater found himself at the Airbnb cottage at the centre of the mystery because as 'all his friends left him', one of the British men who the missing teenager spent his final hours with has claimed.

Ayub Qassim says he invited the apprentice bricklayer, 19, from Lancashire, back to his £40-a-night rented holiday cottage after a rave in Tenerife hours before he vanished on June 17.

The 31-year-old, who booked the Airbnb under the name Ayub Abdul, broke his silence last night, telling MailOnline: 'He came to my Airbnb alive and he left my Airbnb alive.' 

Yesterday, MailOnline exclusively revealed that Qassim was jailed nine years ago for being the mastermind behind a sophisticated operation to flood Wales with Class A drugs.

Spanish police searching for Jay spoken to Qassim and the unnamed friend known only as 'Johnny Vegas' as part of their inquiries but concluded they were 'irrelevant' to the investigation. 

Jay was last seen by a witness walking off in search of a bus stop close to the Airbnb at around 8am on Monday, June 17. He called a friend to say he was making the 11-hour walk back to his hotel in Playa de las Americas but has not been heard from since. 

Today, former detective Peter Bleksley critcised Spanish police, suggesting they may be afraid a proper investigation would hit tourism on the island. 

Mr Bleksley told the Sun: 'This island is so heavily dependent upon tourism, is there reluctance on behalf of the police to actually delve as deep as they should.'

Much of the almost two-week search was focused on the mountainous terrain around Masca where Jay was last known to be.

He has questioned the efficiency of the probe as they appear to be going back over all ground - meaning vital clues may have been missed.

The former detective continued: 'So were these officers going back to the apartment over two weeks after Jay had gone missing.

'If they were, that raises some very serious questions about the efficiency about the the thoroughness and about the competence of this entire investigation.'

Jay's family were left 'blindsided' when police abruptly called off the search on Sunday.

They insisted any new tip-offs and information would be investigated but halted the on the ground hunt.

Jay's friends have denied leaving him, suggesting the youngster went off on his own. 

The men stayed on the island for an extra day after Jay went missing to speak to police – although both have been described as 'irrelevant' to their investigation.

Speaking exclusively to MailOnline, Qassim said: 'The only comment I have to make is that Jay came to the house alive, and he left the house alive.

'I let the geezer stay at mine because he had nowhere else to go, his friends had all left him.

'I know Jay, through friends, I'm not going to bring someone back to mine if I don't know them.

'I'm doing the geezer a favour and now my face is all over the news. It's a bit mental. I haven't even done anything.'

Now Qassim is back at his family's flat in Barking, east London. He insisted he had had no argument with Jay and he had even given him a blanket to sleep in.

He added: 'If I'd fallen out with him would he even come to mine?

'There were no problems. You've seen the last images of him with his red blanket around him.

'I don't know if he had beef elsewhere because I don't know him that well, I only know him through friends.'

Former detective turned TV sleuth Mark Williams-Thomas flew to Tenerife to help with the search - and said he wanted to speak to the two men who rented the apartment Jay last visited.

But Qassim said he had only spoken to authorities in Tenerife.

He said: 'I've spoken to the Spanish police and they've told me not to speak to anyone which is why I've been quiet.

'I've not spoken to Mark Williams-Thomas or anyone like him because he doesn't have any jurisdiction in Tenerife, and I haven't done anything wrong.'

Asked how well he knew Jay and what he thought of the conspiracy theories surrounding his disappearance, Qassim said: 'Everyone knows each other. I'm not going to slander anyone. 

'He's a cool guy, Jay. He ain't got a problem with me, I haven't got a problem with him or his mates. We just all talk to each other and everything was sweet.'

Jay went back to Qassim's remote cottage – called Casa Abuela Tina – at 5am on the day he vanished on June 17.

But he is known to have left the property at around 7.30am to catch a bus back towards his holiday apartment.

A witness said he asked her when the next bus was. When she told him the next one wasn't until 10am, he is believed to have attempted to walk the 11 hours it would have taken him to get back to his holiday let.

The man and another who was travelling with him stayed an extra day after he vanished and spoke to police.

They gave the officers their details and fully cooperated with the investigation. Sources close to the inquiry have told MailOnline that the men are not relevant to Jay's disappearance.

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2024-07-04T15:43:31Z dg43tfdfdgfd