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POLICE have released an identikit of a man they believe might be able to shed some light on the death of the Metro Police officer whose body was found in Eagle Park on Friday, 22 February.

The 29-year-old Metro Police officer, Jason February, was one of five Metro Police officers sought for the death of 46-year-old Ebrahim Adams of Lavender Hill.

Adams' beaten body was found on Baden Powell Drive near Strandfontein Road. He had been blud?geoned to death in the early hours of Friday morning.

Four Metro Police officers were arrested on the same day in connection with the death, and the body of the fifth officer, February, was found in the bush at Eagle Park at mid-day, before police could arrest him.

Three of the Metro Police officers were released on bail on Friday. The fourth officer will have his bail application hearing on Friday.

February was found with bullet wounds to his head. At the time of his death police suspected suicide, but opened a murder docket as foul play could not be ruled out.

"It was decided at the crime scene, in conjunction with all the crime scene experts, that a murder case will be registered for investigation as that possibility could not be excluded," says Senior Superintendent Billy Jones, media spokesperson for the provincial police.

The Grassy Park Police Station, which is investigating February's death, is still waiting for autopsy results. It will continue to investigate the matter as a murder while awaiting the autopsy results.

It has in the meantime come to light that a red Datsun Stanza bakkie was seen entering the scene of the crime in ?Eagle Park about 10 minutes before the shots were fired. However, the police are not able to say at this stage of the investigation if the bakkie is at all linked to February's death.

"Sometimes people drive into the bush to cut wood," says Inspector Stephen Knapp, communications officer at the Grassy Park Police Station.

An identikit of the driver of the bakkie has been released and the police are hoping he would come forward and provide information that might assist them in their investigation. Three other people were also seen in the bakkie, but witnesses were not able to provide descriptions.

The family of the Lavender Hill man who was killed feel there is a "story behind the story".

Salwa Bailey, Adams' cousin, alleges before the Metro Police offi?cers chased after him, his 18-year-old girlfriend had stopped a police car and claimed Adams had kidnapped their child.

"She got into the police car and they chased after him, but the car had hit a Vibracrete wall and Fe?bruary ran away. This is when the Metro Police officers chased after him."

However, the Steenberg police say this is not true.

Bailey also claims the girlfriend's aunt's husband was either a Metro Police officer or a previous member of the South African Police Service.

The police could not confirm this.

Adams' girlfriend was not available for comment on either of the allegations.

Bailey says Adams' death is a mystery and there are too many missing pieces. "If it had been one of his enemies it would have made more sense," says Bailey.

According to a police source, Adams has had previous run-ins with the law and had 12 criminal convictions. His criminal record, dating as far back as the 1980s, includes convictions for theft, drugs, possession of an unlicensed firearm, housebreaking and sodomy, with the latest conviction being domestic violence in 2005.

Anyone with information of the whereabouts of the man in the identikit can phone Sergeant Marlon van Neel on (021) 700-3912 or 082 567 4835.

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