HALIFAX - RCMP confirm that a body found near Halifax is that of Sergei Kostin, a missing cab driver whose death is the subject of a murder investigation.
Const. Lana Woodfine said Saturday the identification was made by the RCMP forensic unit and the medical examiner's office.
Woodfine said the murder investigation continues, adding there had been no arrests on Saturday.
"The immediate family has been notified of the identification," said Woodfine.
"Police are proceeding with all aspects of the investigation."
The body was found in a wooded area in North Preston, N.S., on Wednesday and the RCMP confirmed Thursday the man had been murdered.
The cabbie from Dartmouth, N.S., had been missing since January.
Kostin, a 40-year-old native of Ukraine, came to Halifax in 1993 and was last seen on the afternoon of Jan. 17.
At that time, he had driven his taxi to pick up two men at a variety store in Dartmouth.
Twenty minutes later, the cab's global positioning system was disabled in nearby Cherry Brook.
On Jan. 20, his burned-out car was found in woods behind an abandoned building in North Preston.
Kostin had financial troubles during his time in Halifax. By 2006, he had amassed a huge debt and started bankruptcy proceedings in August of that year.
