It has emerged that the body of the man who was found in a freezer room at the rear of a fish shop in Galway had been placed in a plastic container.
Speaking on RTÉ's Crimecall programme, Supt Tom Hurley said the owner of the fish shop found the body in the container which was covered.
Gardaí now say the last reported sighting of 52-year-old Patrick McCormack from Upper Artane Cottages on the Malahide Road in Artane, Dublin, was five years ago.
They have not ruled out the possibility that his body has been in the cold room for that length of time.
Today, gardaí issued a photograph of the victim and appealed to the public for help in tracing his last movements.
They are also interested in information about a car he had at the time; a green Opel Record, registration number 97 D 9981, which was recovered in the Co Clare area.
A post mortem examination is due to take place at the Dublin City Morgue in the morning.
