Identity of Jay Slater mystery man ‘Johnny Vegas’ REVEALED by ex-Maddie investigator as mystery over final night deepens

THE identity of 'Jonny Vegas', one of the mystery men who last saw missing Brit teen Jay Slater, has been revealed.

Initial reports suggested convicted drug dealer Ayub Qassim and Jonny Vegas were the two new pals Jay made before he vanished - but they now appear to be one and the same.

Jay Slater, 19, vanished almost three weeks ago

Ayub Qassim, 31, has been revealed as Jonny Vegas

Qassim - pictured on the left - is friends with drill rapper Potter Payper

The Airbnb which Jay travelled to with Ayub Qassim

It comes after The Sun revealed Ayub, 31, rented a £40-a-night holiday let under a different surname with an unnamed friend.

Jay, 19, went to the Airbnb - called Case Abuela Tina - in northwest Tenerife at around 5am on June 17, just hours before he vanished.

Former detective Mark Williams-Thomas has since told Mail Online that Qassim confirmed the nickname 'Jonny Vegas' belongs to him.

The ex-cop - who worked on the Madeleine McCann case - tracked down Qassim and quizzed him on the mystery of Jay's disappearance.

Mark claimed: "In the last 24 hours I have spoken in detail with Ayub Qassim, who is also known as Jonny Vegas."

"He told me he was on the (Veronicas) Strip in Playa de las Americas and said that Jay wanted to carry on partying and that he hadn't anywhere to stay, so he (Qassim) invited him back to his rental.

"In the car they played music all the way, they stopped once to get a can of fizzy drink, and there was three of them in the car, Jay in the back and Qassim's friend in the front."

Qassim's unnamed friend had so far only been referred to as Jonny Vegas.

If the nickname - based on a famous comedian who starred in Benidorm - does indeed belong to Qassim, the identity of the second man is still unknown.

He remains a key piece of the puzzle in the bizarre mystery of Jay's disappearance.

Qassim, who The Sun revealed was jailed for nine years in 2015, previously said: "I let the geezer stay at mine because he had nowhere else to go.

"His friends had all left him.

"I know Jay, through friends, I'm not going to bring someone back to mine if I don't know them.

"I'm doing the geezer a favour and now my face is all over the news. It's a bit mental. I haven't even done anything."

Qassim, who booked the Airbnb under the surname Abdul, and his friend spoke to Spanish police after Jay vanished.

Officials deemed them "irrelevant" to the ongoing investigation and let them fly home to the UK the very next day.

Qassim added: "The only comment I have to make is that Jay came to the house alive, and he left the house alive.

"If I'd fallen out with him would he even come to mine?

"There were no problems. You've seen the last images of him with his red blanket around him.

"I don't know if he had beef elsewhere because I don't know him that well, I only know him through friends."

Jay's dad Warren, 58, questioned why his teenage son ended up at a remote Airbnb with “two grown men”.

Qassim confirmed he had spoken to the Spanish authorities in Tenerife but says he was told by foreign cops not to speak to anyone else.

Asked how well he knew Jay and what he thought of the theories surrounding his disappearance, Qassim said: "Everyone knows each other. I'm not going to slander anyone.