Suspect arrested in murder of founder of Pathao and Gokada ride-sharing app

New York: The personal assistant to Fahim Saleh, founder of the Nigerian ride-sharing app Gokada, was arrested on Friday, July 17 in the grisly murder of the 33-year-old tech entrepreneur in his Manhattan apartment. Saleh's body was found dismembered and decapitated in his luxury condo on Tuesday, New York police said. 

The suspect, identified as Tyrese Devon Haspil, 21, was charged with second-degree murder. "At approximately 8:45 this morning, 21-year-old Tyrese Haspil was taken into custody in the lobby of 172 Crosby Street by members of the New York/New Jersey Regional Fugitive Task Force and transported to the 7th Precinct for arrest processing," NYPD Chief of Detectives Rodney Harrison said at a news conference on Friday. 

"Mr. Haspil was Mr. Saleh's executive assistant and handled his finances and personal matters. It is also believed that he owed the victim a significant amount of money. That is all I can say at this time due to the fact that the case is still ongoing. Mr. Haspil has been charged with murder two."

Saleh earlier this week died of multiple stab wounds to the neck and torso, the New York City medical examiner said. His body was discovered in his apartment on Tuesday afternoon. His body had been decapitated and dismembered, the parts placed into separate plastic garbage bags. A power saw and cleaning supplies were found plugged in nearby.

Security camera video showed Saleh in his apartment building's elevator with a man in a dark suit, mask and gloves, the media reports said. Video footage showed the suspect following Saleh into the seventh-story apartment, where a struggle began. Saleh, who was born in Saudi Arabia to Bangladeshi parents and grew up in New York, founded the Pathao ride company in 2015 and in 2018 the Gokada motorbike hailing app.

Gokada was widely used in the Nigerian megacity of Lagos until state officials in February banned motorcycle taxis, known locally as "okada," dealing a serious blow to the company.