Skeletal remains found during a search of bushland west of Wollongong last month have been identified as those of missing Sydney father and businessman, Minh Phuoc “Paul” Nguyen.
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Mr Nguyen was last seen driving a luxury golden hire car out of the Hilton Hotel in the Sydney CBD about 9.50pm on May 1, 2014.
Police suspect the then-50-year-old was later murdered at a Bankstown unit block, where a blood stain was found on the carpet.
Acting on information, police investigating Mr Nguyen’s disappearance conducted a coordinated search of thick scrub at Cordeaux on July 24.
Detectives from Strike Force Awols, set up by the State Crime Command’s Homicide Squad to investigate Mr Nguyen’s murder and find his remains, began searching private property off Harry Graham Drive about 8am on that day.
Read more: Human remains found in Wollongong bushland
Investigators continued to scour the area for items of interest until July 27.
Police on Friday confirmed a grave site containing bones, which were examined and determined to be human, was found during the search.
“Following further analysis, the bones were confirmed to belong to Mr Nguyen,” a NSW Police statement said.
Strike Force Awols investigators have notified Mr Nguyen’s family, some of whom visited the Cordeaux site during the search.
The discovery followed numerous searches by police, which failed to locate Mr Nguyen’s body.
Two men were previously charged in connection to his murder.
In 2015, 23-year-old Casula man Zulfukar Aljubouri was charged with Mr Nguyen’s murder. A 19-year-old from Liverpool was charged with being an accessory after the fact.
The murder charge has since been dismissed; Aljubouri has pleaded guilty to a lesser charge of manslaughter and unlawfully disposing of a corpse. He remains in custody awaiting sentence.
The Mercury understands Aljubouri led investigators to the Cordeaux location.
A NSW Police spokeswoman would only say detectives acted on information received.