Woodland murder: Six people arrested in connection with Tomasz Dembler's murder

Specialist teams carried out dawn raids on properties across the Cleveland area and at one address in Hull.

Two properties in Middlesbrough, two in Grangetown, one in North Ormesby and one in the Spring Bank area of Hull were all targeted as part of today’s significant policing operation.

Five polish men and one polish woman, all between the ages of 27 and 44, were arrested and are in police custody.

The 39-year-old's body was found and recovered from woodland near to Flatts Lane Country Park in Normanby, Middlesbrough, last week.

Tomasz lived in the UK for the last 20 years - recently in the Middlesbrough area, and before that in Darlington.

Tomasz Dembler

Tomasz is a father-of-one, who has family in Poland and parts of the UK.

Detective Chief Inspector Matt Murphy-King said: “Today sees a significant development in the case after a considerable amount of work by the investigation team.

“We have had a good response from the public following the appeals last week, but I would still urge people to come forward and tell us what they know.

“We are continuing to provide support to Tomasz’s family and are keeping them updated with developments. Our thoughts are with them as we continuing with our work to seek justice for Tomasz.”

DCI Matt Murphy-King

Officers are working to find out more about his life and what his movements were over the last few months and the days leading up to his death.

Detectives have established that Tomasz could have been killed at some point from mid-March up until his body was discovered.

Two members of the public discovered Tomasz body at around 3.25pm on Monday, April 12, in woodland near to Flatts Lane Country Park, Middlesbrough.

The scene was cordoned off for several days to enable a specialist team to carry out forensic investigations.

Cordon in place at the scene

Specialist officers are in contact with Tomasz’s family and are supporting them.

DCI Murphy-King is still appealing to people to come forward if they haven’t already spoken to police:

• Did you know Tomasz? If so, we would like to hear from people who specifically spoke to him during March and April.
• Have you seen anything suspicious in or near to Flatts Lane Country Park around the time of March or beyond?
• Do you have dashcam or Private CCTV footage that might show suspicious activity in the area?
• Did you see Tomasz during March or April?

Officers believe that this was a targeted murder and this continues to be a significant line of enquiry.

• Anyone with information can provide it direct to the investigation team through mipp.co.uk and clicking on the Cleveland Police section. Calls can also be made through 101 or Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.