A British couple found dead near their home in France could have been murdered by “criminals from the United Kingdom”, detectives have said.

The theory was suggested on Friday after the bodies of Andrew and Dawn Searle, both in their 60s, were discovered on Thursday afternoon in Les Pesquiès, south of Villefranche-de-Rouergue.

Mr Searle is said to have moved his family to France a decade ago after working as a financial investigator in the “fight against organised crime and terrorism”.

On Friday, the couple’s property and surrounding land in the hamlet had been turned into a crime scene.

“A criminal inquiry has been launched and the fear is that the couple were murdered,” an investigating source said.

“They were very fit, and very popular locally, but there is a theory that they were being pursued by criminals from the United Kingdom.

“This is currently the prioritised line of inquiry, because Mr Searle was once involved in the fight against organised crime and terrorism.”

Victim spent 20 years working against crime

Police and prosecutors have not officially released the name of the Searles, but at least three neighbours confirmed that they were the victims.

One said: “Andy and Dawn were lovely – hearing about this is extremely distressing. They were extremely friendly, and always out and about. What has happened has caused a lot of fear.”

Mr Searle spent at least 20 years working with the police and Serious Fraud Office against organised crime groups involved in financial offences, such as money laundering, according to his LinkedIn profile.

This included work in “sanctions screening”, which is the process of checking individuals and groups who might be barred from dealing in the UK because of their links with rogue nations, terrorist groups and drug traffickers.