Mystery swimmer's identity revealed

Andrea Pecora's family had thought he was travelling through Africa

DUBAI // The mystery man with amnesia found swimming near The Palm Deira last August has finally been identified.

He is Andrea Pecora, a 31-year-old from Italy; and not, as he has believed for the past nine months, Andreas Kostantinidis, a 25-year-old from Greece.

The mystery was solved when police found Mr Pecora's passport copy in a Deira hotel's guest records. The Italian consulate verified its authenticity.

"We never gave up hope. We knew that one day our search and investigation efforts would pay off," said Lt Col Ahmad al Merri, head of criminal investigations at Dubai Police.

"We at the CID are known to be stubborn and were determined to solve this person's identity mystery and reunite him with his family."

The breakthrough came after Mr Pecora was able to remember that he had stayed in a hotel in Al Ghurair when he first arrived in Dubai.

Police scanned hotel records in the area and found a copy of his passport. "We passed on the information to the Italian consulate and they were efficient and verified his identity in less than 24 hours," Lt Col al Merri said.

Mr Pecora, who is receiving treatment at Al Amal Psychiatric Hospital in Dubai, was confused when police told him he was going home soon to be reunited with his family.

"When we told him some names from his family he went quiet and started thinking. You could tell they meant something to him, but he could not locate them," Lt Col al Merri said.

Mr Pecora's family was surprised to learn he was in Dubai suffering from amnesia. His mother told police he travelled frequently and had said he was going to look for a job in Africa.

It is still unclear what he was doing in Dubai.

According to information provided by the Italian consulate, Mr Pecora was born in 1980, is unmarried and has no criminal record - not even a traffic fine is registered against him.

When he was found, he said he thought he was a 25-year-old Greek footballer called Andreas Kostantinidis. Mr Pecora's mother is Greek, which might explain his confusion.

He told The National in August: "I would not forget my country; it is in my heart, just like my name."

Mr Pecora's brother is expected to arrive in Dubai soon to take him back to Italy.