Man charged with Ballymena murder arrested in Portugal as deportation failures come under renewed scrutiny

Inset: Victor Hamilton who was murdered in Ballymena in 2022

A man charged with the murder of a Ballymena resident has been arrested in Portugal, reigniting scrutiny of serious criminal justice and deportation failures highlighted by Ulster Unionist MLA Doug Beattie.

Victor Hamilton, a 63-year-old man who had only recently moved to Ballymena, was stabbed to death in July 2022. His body was discovered in the driveway outside his home on Orkney Drive in the Ballykeel area of the town on July 27, 2022.

Portuguese police have now confirmed the arrest, reported by the Belfast Telegraph to be Casemiro Sano Lopes Vaz, the only suspect still at large following the sentencing of three other men connected to the case last year. He is now expected to face extradition proceedings.

In a statement, Portugal’s Policia Judicial said:

“The PJ, through the Criminal Information Unit, located and arrested a 28-year-old Portuguese citizen on Wednesday in the western part of the country who was wanted by the UK authorities for murder.

“The events took place on July 26 2022, in the town of Ballymena in Northern Ireland.

“Following an argument, the suspect stabbed the victim in the chest with a knife, causing his death, and then travelled to Portugal.

“For these crimes, he could be sentenced to a maximum of 25 years in prison.

“He will appear before the Lisbon Court of Appeal for the application of a coercive measure.”

Although the detainee was not named in the statement, well-placed sources confirmed it is Lopes Vaz. He is understood to have been arrested in the city of Torres Vedras, north-west of Lisbon.

Earlier sentences and justice system concerns

Three men were sentenced on April 2 last year in connection with Mr Hamilton’s death.

Mamadu Saido Djalo (32), of Derryveen Crescent in Dungannon, Co Tyrone, pleaded guilty to manslaughter at Belfast Crown Court and was sentenced to six years, divided between custody and licence.

Mario Menezes (35), of Portmore Street in Portadown, and Michael Hanrahan (43), of Thomas Street in Craigavon, Co Armagh, both admitted withholding information and were each sentenced to two years, also divided between prison and licence.

Lopes Vaz was named in court as the man suspected of carrying out the fatal knife attack.

Following the sentencing of the three men, Detective Chief Inspector Neil McGuinness of the PSNI said:

“A post mortem examination determined that Mr Victor Hamilton died from a stab wound to his back.

“We know that four men, including the three defendants, had travelled from Portadown to Ballymena on the evening of 26 July in 2022.

“They went to a property in the Orkney Drive area of the town, and it was here that the attack, which would take an innocent life, took place.”

He added:

“Victor Hamilton, who lived in the adjacent flat, was a peaceable and well-loved man. Essentially, he was in the wrong place at the wrong time.

“It’s hard to find the right words to convey not only the horror, but also the senselessness of this vicious stabbing.”

DCI McGuinness also underlined the lasting impact on the Ballymena community and Mr Hamilton’s family.

“Mr Hamilton had moved to the town just a few weeks earlier, and his murder has left an entire community in shock.

“Today, my thoughts are with Victor’s many friends and, importantly, with his loving family who have been robbed of a father and a brother. It’s almost three years on now, and understandably their pain and sadness continue.”

Beattie: case exposes wider deportation failures

The arrest comes days after Ulster Unionist justice spokesperson Doug Beattie MC MLA cited the Hamilton case as a stark example of systemic failings in Northern Ireland’s Criminal Justice System and its coordination with the Home Office on deportation of foreign national offenders.

Mr Beattie said the murder of Mr Hamilton was “devastating” for his family and the Ballymena community and warned that serious mistakes had already been made in how offenders connected to the case were handled after sentencing.

He highlighted particular concern over Mario Menezes, a Portuguese national convicted of withholding information, who he said should have been automatically deported under section 32 of the UK Borders Act 2007 but was released due to time served.

Mr Beattie warned that the failure left an individual convicted in connection with a murder free to move between jurisdictions, and raised wider questions about how often deportation requirements may have been missed in other serious cases.

The Ulster Unionist MLA has called on the Justice Minister to ensure such failures are not repeated and that Mr Hamilton’s family receive a full explanation and apology.

Extradition proceedings expected

Lopes Vaz is now expected to appear before the Lisbon Court of Appeal, where a coercive measure will be applied as part of the extradition process.

The arrest marks a significant development in a case that comes amid renewed political pressure to ensure justice is delivered fully — not only through the courts, but through proper enforcement of deportation law once sentences are handed down.