A former Aberdeen student who is a suspect in the alleged murder of a man in Burma has not be arrested because officers do not have the authority, Police Scotland have said.
Harris Binotti, 26, has reportedly been traced to a property in Glasgow less than one mile from one of Scotland’s biggest police stations following an international manhunt led by Interpol.
Burmese police say that Mr Binotti, who is thought to be from Dumfries but lived in Aberdeen for three years between 2010 and 2013 and studied at Robert Gordon University, has not been seen the death of his colleague Gary Ferguson, 47, in Rangoon last November.
But despite recent reports of his whereabouts in a national newspaper and a “red notice” issued by Interpol, Police Scotland say they have no authority to make an arrest.
In a statement, they said: “The Myanmar (Burma) authorities have the lead in the investigation into the death of Peter Gary Ferguson.
“Police Scotland has no authority to arrest anyone at this stage.
“Police Scotland will continually monitor any ongoing risk and take all appropriate measures.”
A spokesman for Interpol said on Tuesday: ”At the request of Myanmar authorities, Interpol issued a red notice, or international wanted persons alert, for Mr Binotti.
”A red notice is a request to provisionally arrest an individual pending extradition issue upon the request of a member country based on a valid national arrest warrant.
“It is not an international arrest warrant.”
Interpol said it did not arrest individuals, but added: ”Many of Interpol’s member countries, however, consider a red notice a valid request for provisional arrest.”
A Foreign and Commonwealth Office spokesman said: “We continue to do all we can to help and support the family of Mr Ferguson at this difficult time. We are in contact with the Burmese authorities responsible for the investigation.”