Tanzania police in hotel murder hunt for Sammy Almahri

Nadine Aburas and Sammy Almahri had known each other for three years

Police in Tanzania say they are actively looking for a man wanted in connection with the murder of a woman at a Cardiff hotel.

Nadine Aburas, from Cardiff, was found at the Future Inn in December.

South Wales Police have released CCTV footage of Sammy Almahri, 44, from New York city, who was with her at the hotel but is now thought to be in Tanzania.

Officers in Tanzania said they had been acting on information.

Diwani Athumani, the acting director of criminal investigation in the east African country told BBC Wales: "We have information about him.

"What we are doing now is following it up. We're told he is in Tanzania, he could be in any part of the county. But for security and investigation purposes we cannot say too much."

Mr Athumani also said he was warning people in the country about him.


On Monday her mother, Andrea Aburas told a news conference her heart had been "torn in two".

"Nadine was my baby, she was such a beautiful and kind hearted girl. She would never hurt anyone, she just wanted to help people," she said on Monday.

"She was a born healer for people... always putting others first. The loss of Nadine has torn my heart in two."

Detectives said the pair had known each other for three years and had met up previously in New York.

On 30 December they checked into the Future Inn, Cardiff Bay, within 30 minutes of each other and left shortly before 22:00 GMT but returned an hour later.

Five hours later, Mr Almahri left the hotel and is believed to have boarded a flight at 10:00 GMT from Heathrow to Doha, Qatar, before flying on to Tanzania.

At the news conference, Ms Aburas made a direct appeal to Mr Almahri: "I am asking you, as Nadine's mother, please hand yourself into the authorities and please help us find the answers that we need so we can let Nadine rest in peace.

"You told us that you loved Nadine, if that is true, please let the police help you." BBC