The victim: Brutal end to ex-fish farmer caught up in crime

When the remains were dragged from the water at Burn, near Selby, on March 20 last year, it became apparent the unknown victim had endured a violent and painful death.

His body was wrapped in bin bags, with three tied around his head and several plastic bags around his feet. He was dressed in only long johns, a T-shirt and underpants.

A rope around his waist is thought to have been attached to a heavy object to weigh the body down.

But it was the extent of the injuries which marked out the ferocity of the attack. A post mortem revealed the 38-year-old's injuries included three fractures to his jaw, and the back of his skull had been split from one ear to the other – an injury which alone could have killed him.

His left arm was broken as he tried to defend himself, and his hyoid bone and larynx were crushed through compression of his neck.

His death marked the end of a seven-and-a-half year illegal residency in the UK. Police discovered the father-of-three had been smuggled into the country in the summer of 2001 after he had accrued crippling debts in his homeland where he worked as a fish farmer in the Fuqing City area, in Fujian Province on the south China coast.

To try and repay his debts, he decided to try his hand in the UK and paid between 13,000 and 15,000 to a gang for his illicit journey.

Leaving his wife and children, he travelled under a Korean passport, taking about six months as he evaded border controls.

He arrived in London on August 6, 2001, and claimed asylum, giving the false name of Bing Lin.

Police traced his movements through a series of locations, including Twickenham, Walworth, Camberwell, Sheffield and York.

He had worked in restaurants for three years and sought comfort in a new relationship with a girlfriend, but was then made an offer for which he was to pay the ultimate price – a chance to buy into a lucrative drugs cartel involved in the production of skunk cannabis.