Police arrested over body in canal

Three French police officers were arrested yesterday after the body of a man of Arab origin was found floating in a canal in Nantes.

The officers had already been questioned about a 33-year-old Tunisian, Taoufik el-Amri, who disappeared after they interrogated him on 22 November. The three said they had let the man go soon after arresting him as he left a bar. However, discrepancies emerged between their accounts and the evidence of other witnesses.

On Monday, the owner of a house boat found Mr Amri's identity and bank cards in canal Saint-Felix, 500 metres from the spot where the three police officers say they released him. Yesterday, the body of a man of North African origin was found nearby.

The public prosecutor for Nantes, Stephan Autin, said efforts were being made to identify the body. He said the officers had been arrested and the special police squad, which investigates police crimes, had been called in.

The three had been investigating a snatch theft in the centre of Nantes. They arrested Mr Amri as he left a bar with two friends. He has not been seen since.

The officers said they released him quickly after deciding his description did not fit that of the wanted man. M. Autin said "serious discrepancies" had emerged between the account of the officers and that of other witnesses at the place where the arrest took place, and the degree of intoxication of the missing man.