DETECTIVES hunting the killers of wealthy retired businessman Kenneth Todd believe the murder may have been the work of a gang of armed robbers.

They claim the killing has all the hallmarks of a gang that are known to be operating on the Caribbean island of Margarita.

Mr Todd, 62, was killed last weekend while holidaying on the island just off Venezuela, with his wife Bronwyn.

He used to run the Thirsk-based waste management company FD Todd and Sons until he retired and it is now run by his three children.

For the last four years he had lived in Spain - although was still a regular visitor to Thirsk to see his family and friends.

A gang of four masked men are understood to have burst into Mr Todd's holiday hotel in San Juan Bautista early on Sunday.

Officials said Mr Todd was beaten to death with the butt of a pistol. His body was later taken to a hospital in the island's main city, Porlamar.

The men made off with cash, jewellery and a camera from Mr Todd's hotel room.

The operational director of the island's independent police force, Benito Dumont said: "The circumstances in this case match the same modus operandi used by bands of hitmen who have moved to Margarita from the mainland."

He said policing on the island had been intensified in the wake of the attack and the investigation into Mr Todd's murder was ongoing.

Investigators believe Mr Todd may have been deliberately targeted by the gang.

The governor of Margarita, Morel Rodrguez Avila, is believed to have met the island's Security Council to discuss the incident.