Jay Slater’s friend Johnny Vegas sets the record straight on ‘stolen Rolex’ | UK | News
The two men who took Jay Slater back to a remote Airbnb in Tenerife have taken to social media to answer questions about the case. In the video, Ayub Qassim and a man believed to be his friend Rocky defend themselves – and debunk conspiracy theories surrounding them and Jay’s disappearance. Qassim said Jay died in a tragic accident. And he said: If I’m guilty, then arrest me, what are you talking about? When you tell the truth, you don’t make mistakes. The pair were among the last people to see Jay, 19, before he disappeared on June 17. Jay travelled with them to the remote village of Masca after spending the night partying at the Papagayo nightclub in Playa de las Americas. (Image: YouTube)
Jay Slater’s friend Ayub Qassim – also known as ‘Johnny Vegas’ – has released new details about a Rolex watch allegedly stolen in Tenerife.
He insisted no one had taken his watch and that he would never have asked Jay to return to his Airbnb if the missing Briton had taken his Rolex. The two men who returned Jay Slater to a remote Airbnb in Tenerife have appeared on social media to answer questions about the case.
In the video, Ayub Qassim and a man believed to be his friend Rocky defend themselves and debunk conspiracy theories circulating around them and Jay’s disappearance. Qassim said Jay died in a tragic accident.
And he said: “If I’m guilty then arrest me, what are you talking about? When you tell the truth you don’t make mistakes.” The couple were among the last people to see Jay, 19, before he disappeared on June 17.
Jay travelled with them to the remote village of Masca after spending the night partying at Papagayo nightclub in Playa de las Americas. He vanished after leaving the £40-a-night Airbnb, sparking a massive four-week search, reports the Mirror.
Jay’s body was tragically found on July 15. Spanish authorities said he suffered multiple injuries consistent with a fall in mountainous terrain.
Y Slater, pictured with his mother Debbie Duncan, was tragically found dead on July 15 (Image: Facebook)
When they first went missing, Qassim and Rocky were questioned by local police but were deemed “unimportant” and allowed to return to the UK. They have now taken to social media to answer questions about what they know – and don’t know.
People who watched the video were able to ask questions, including about the disappearance of the Rolex, whether Jay was scared and claims the teen was carrying two knives.
Qassim, a convicted drug dealer, said they brought him back to the Airbnb after Jay asked. He said, “He brought him home? Nobody brought anybody, man. He invited himself. Think about it, man, use your head. How do I feel about this? This is crazy, man, this is really crazy. You know what I mean, this is really crazy, man.”
When asked, “Did you hit him?” he said, “No, of course not. Mate, what do you think happened to him? He had a tragic accident, you know what it’s like. To put someone like that through that. The kid didn’t get a funeral, you’ve got to have some respect.”
When asked why his watch was stolen, he replied, “Nobody took my watch, man. Why the hell would I invite somebody who took my watch into my house so he could sleep on the couch, what are you talking about? Man, you don’t help people, you know what I mean.”
For three weeks, authorities searched tirelessly to try to find the missing teenager. (Image: Family document/LBT Global/PA)
Jay, from Oswaldtwistle, Lancashire, was on holiday with friends Lucy Mae Law, 18, and Brad Hargreaves, and Qassim was urging people to leave them alone.
“Everybody should chill out, leave Lucy alone, because, to be honest, Lucy was the first one who came into my garden and said ‘yo, like, I’m looking for him, where is he?’ People like to listen to plays.” He said he knew the Lancashire band: “Yeah, of course I did, how else would I have been there? We were doing our own thing, we weren’t together, because I don’t listen to that music, it’s not my thing.”
When asked why Jay was afraid when he left their apartment, Qassim replied: “I don’t know why he was afraid and he’s not here to answer that question.”
“I don’t mean that people might be going through something in their head, who knows, you know what I mean? Yeah, I offered to drive him back, but obviously when I wake up, because you have to remember we got back at 6:30, 6:40 in the morning. And I only slept for an hour before I had to move my car.”
“Dude, I’m not going to drive another half hour and all this is an hour away, man, I was in a Cupra estate, I was speeding down the road like it’s not an hour away, it’s half an hour away.”
He also claimed that his drug dealing was in the past: “And everybody calls me a dealer, I was 19, I’m 30 now. Everybody ask why he was scared, man I don’t know why he was scared man, stop asking me, you’re asking the wrong person.”
“I have videos on my phone where he and I are filming Rocky in the car where Rocky is sleeping in the front. We’re making fun of him, you know what I mean. He was calm, there was a vibe, we were just joking around, all this fear and stuff, it’s like, what are you talking about fear?”
Asked again about the watch, he said: “I don’t know whose watch it is that has disappeared. Do you know what watch it is? A question for you, because you are all talking about this watch. What color is it, what type is it, tell me.”
Qassim is then asked why he booked the Airbnb under a different name. He is asked: “I didn’t get back to the bnb in 1 hour 20 minutes, it took me half an hour to drive, I’m a driver, man. What are you talking about, what are you talking about?”
And he repeated the phrase Jay had asked for to accompany them: “He looked at me and said: ‘bro, I don’t have the keys to my house, they left, they left and that’s it, can I ride with you man?'”
The search for the teenager, originally from Lancashire, lasted 29 days. (Image: Jonathan Buckmaster)
“He asked me, man, I didn’t invite anybody. Man, I don’t know why he was scared, it’s all in his head. I can tell you what I’m feeling and what I’m going through.” Qassim then sensationally claims that the “detective” told him that Jay had two knives on him.
“It’s even crazier, like the guy had two knives on him. Like we’re in danger, not to mention the fact that no one’s saying anything about it, I’m not even going to complain about it. I’ve been in danger many times before, I’ve been shot at before. Why was I in danger? Apparently he had a knife on him. This is straight from the horse’s mouth.”
In a small intervention, Rocky said: “I was drunk, I was sleeping in the car. Why didn’t he charge his phone? I don’t know, I was sleeping so I can’t tell you, buddy.”
Jay is believed to have died instantly after a “fall or dive” into the unforgiving terrain. A preliminary autopsy revealed he suffered multiple bone fractures.
His family have been in Tenerife for the past month, during the search and now waiting to repatriate his body. A GoFundMe appeal has raised more than £70,000, and mother Debbie Duncan has asked for more donations, saying the money will be used to repatriate her son’s body, as well as cover the costs of his funeral.
