Pakistani businessman slain near airport was gold trader

A Pakistani gold trader who was found dead in Irving has been identified as the victim of a kidnapping at Dallas/Fort Worth Airport last week, officials said Wednesday.

Authorities continued their investigation into whether the slaying was linked to a June 2 attempted kidnapping of a jeweler in Arlington.

“We are awaiting DFW to finish their investigation before proceeding in any determinations,” Arlington police Lt. Christopher Cook said Wednesday in an email.

The victim at the airport was identified as Muhammad Saeed Shaikh, 41, of Karachi, Pakistan, according to officials at the Dallas County medical examiner’s office. A ruling on his death is pending.

Officials with the Pakistan Society of North Texas have assisted Shaikh’s family. His father arrived in North Texas during the weekend.

Shaikh was in the U.S. on on a visiting visa, said Raja Zahid A. Khanzada, editor-in-chief of Jago Times, a Pakistani publication released in the Dallas and Houston areas. “He was here on business. His family is scared because those people are still out there.”

No arrests had been made by Wednesday.

Shaikh, who was married with two young girls, confronted people breaking into his car outside a Shell convenience store at Rental Car Drive and International Parkway at DFW Airport on Thursday afternoon.

It appears the encounter was not random, investigators have said.

Shaikh ran out and confronted the people, who forced him into another car and drove away.

He was found unconscious in the 4300 block of West Northgate Drive in Irving, almost two miles away. He was taken to a Dallas hospital, where he was pronounced dead, authorities said.

Investigators believe he was followed to the gas station from a location off the airport.

On Wednesday, authorities continued their efforts to determine whether Shaikh’s death is related to the June 2 attempted kidnapping of a jeweler in Arlington.

Arlington police said that the two cases had no affirmative links as of Wednesday.

On June 2, at a convenience store in the 2000 block of East Pioneer Parkway in Arlington, a jeweler ran away from a masked gunman while another masked man ransacked the victim’s car, apparently looking for jewelry the victim intended to sell to area businesses, Arlington police said.

This report contains information from Star-Telegram archives.

This story was originally published June 15, 2016 at 2:01 PM with the headline "Pakistani businessman slain near airport was gold trader."