A murderous gang suspected in an earlier execution-style killing may be responsible for the shooting of a pair of British honeymooners on Antigua.

Benjamin Mullany, 31, a trainee physiotherapist from Ystalyfera, near Swansea, was being flown home to Britain today aboard an air ambulance with a bullet lodged in his head despite a medical assessment that he is "brain-dead."

His flight, however, was delayed by an estimated five hours after turning back to Montreal from its refuelling stop in Goose Bay, Newfoundland.

Antigua's police commissioner, Gary Nelson, said he believes the shooting of the couple at the Cocos hotel on Sunday may be linked to a recent execution-style murder of a Syrian immigrant in Antigua.

Tony Louisa, 46, a welder, was found dead in his apartment in the village of Radio Range on June 11 with a single gunshot wound to the head. Local reports said he appeared to have been eating and watching television shortly before the execution-style killing.

The Mullanys were shot at around 4:40 am on the last day of their honeymoon on July 27 in an apparent robbery gone wrong, police say.

Mr Nelson said the kitchen door of their seaside bungalow Cocos Hotel had been forced open. The couple appeared to have had time to get up out of bed, he said. Both were found lying on the bedroom floor near the bed.

The police commissioner said Dr Mullany was shot in the front of the head, around the temple, while Mr Mullany was shot in the back of the head.

He said it appeared there was more than one assailant. Asked if he believed the same gang responsible for the previous killing, he said: "I think so."

He said the shootings appeared to have a similar modus operandi, suggesting that the same brutal gang was responsible. He noted that all eight other murders in Antigua this year took place outside.

Police have four "persons of interest" in custody, after bringing in a total of 31 people for questioning.

They have also seized a number of firearms and are waiting to see if ballistic tests identify any of them as the murder weapon.

Investigators recovered the bullet that passed through Dr Mullany's head from a wall in the bungalow. Antigua police, which only has one forensics expert, has requested a forensic team from either Scotland Yard of America's FBI.

Mr Nelson voiced scepticism about a tip that a local drifter with a criminal record had taken the Mullanys on a tour of the island a week before their deaths.

An acquaintance of the drifter said the man was out on bail on drugs charges at the time of the shooting, but was immediately rounded up.

He said the drifter, who has Rastafarian-style dreadlocks in his hair, sold marijuana and cocaine to tourists on the beaches next to Cocos Hotel.

"I have no knowledge of him taking them around the island," he said. "There are lots of stories. I have no idea where they are coming from. Stuff gets made up and it almost becomes true."

Mr Nelson said a special police task force was actually hunting a fugitive in the area of Cocos Hotel at the time of the shootings, but took more than 40 minutes to respond to the hotel.

The first emergency call reporting gunshots came in at around 4:40 am from Friar's Hill in the area, but that the Cocos Hotel security did not summon help until 5:17 am.

He said a female tourist who was a nurse came to the aid of the Mullanys, administering first aid until an ambulance arrived.

A male tourist summoned the guards, who appeared not to have heard Dr Mullany's screams or the gunshots. Police have questioned all three guards on duty and released them because they offered a plauside alibi.

Mr Nelson strongly disputed reports that the Mullany's were tortured during the attack.

"There is no evidence of torture at all," he said. "The parents are very, very upset about that. They got to see their children and there is no evidence of torture."

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