Double murder fugitive Kevin Parle used to frequent a secret cannabis smoking bar on the Costa Blanca, a private detective believes.

The wanted career criminal was allegedly spotted spending time in the off-the-beaten-track venue in the sun-kissed resort of Albir.

The giant Scouser, wanted wanted in connection with the separate Liverpool killings of a popular mum and a teenage boy, seemed to fit the description of a regular at the cafe.

In new investigations carried out by TV cop Peter Bleksley, the owners of the drug joint were convinced they’d recently seen the 6ft 6in giant in their establishment.

But when shown his picture, the proprietors suspiciously performed a dramatic U-turn, suddenly claiming they were instead referring to a different, 75-year-old man.

Bleksley, currently tracing Parle in Spain, believe they were lying and were spooked when seeing the imposing face of the violent “man mountain” figure.

The fugitive, who was allegedly seen in “jewel of the Costa Blanca” Albir last September, was also linked to a campsite called Villamar in the town.

Intelligence passed onto Bleksley suggested the 39-year-old, on the run for 15 years, had connections to a group of Liverpudlians staying at the site.

The holiday venue was made famous by the Channel 5 documentary “Bargain Loving Brits in the Sun.”

Parle is wanted by detectives in Liverpool in connection with the shocking unsolved killing of mum-of-three Lucy Hargreaves in Walton in 2005, also the gunning down of 16-year-old Liam Kelly, the previous year, in Dingle.

Bleksley visited the cannabis cafe, sandwiched between a cocktail bar and a gym.

With an “non-descript doorway” entrance, the drug establishment is mostly used by Spanish citizens who need to pay a 20 Euro membership fee.

Bleksley interviewed the cannabis cafe bosses on tape, for his ongoing BBC podcast, and initially they instantly recognised Parle’s name, and his familiar description.

In an interesting exchange, the proprietors admitted: “Yeah, I know him, tall guy.

“How is he?

“He didn’t come for a long time, I think a year or so.

“Did he do something wrong?

“I think we talk about the same guy, yeah?”

But showed the flyer photo of Parle, they performed a U-turn, adding: “Oh no, I’m talking about a guy who’s maybe 75 now…”

Bleksley later said he was undecided if he thought their change of heart was truthful, pointing out how the men suddenly changed their stance when seeing a picture which was clearly a police mugshot.

Last week, the ECHO reported Bleksley’s recent claimed findings that Parle lived for a whole summer in 2006 on Mi Sol holiday park in Torrevieja, where he was well-known for having large wads of UK sterling which he regularly tried to change into Euros.

Detectives from Liverpool visited the location, it was claimed, but Parle, who stayed at the park with a group of “trouble-making Scousers” had “fled the nest,” possibly to a villa in Quesada.

Ms Hargreaves, 22, was sleeping under a duvet on the sofa in her front room in Lambourne Road when three men burst in, in August 2005, fired a shotgun at her and then torched the house.

Her two-year-old daughter was sleeping upstairs at the time.

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The popular mum was not the intended target of the gun attack, described as “one of the most brutal” police in Liverpool had ever come across.

Fourteen months earlier in June 2004, Liam Kelly, just 16, was gunned down in Grafton Street.

Several people, including Parle, were arrested in connection with the murder.

But he absconded shortly afterwards.

If you have information about Parle’s apparent whereabouts, contact Crimestoppers, anonymously, on 0800 555 111 or Merseyside Police by ringing 101.

The podcast Manhunt – Finding Kevin Parle is available on BBC Sounds.