A 38-year-old man has been arrested in connection with the death of an Italian computer engineer in Amsterdam.

Paolo Moroni, 42, was found dead on Thursday evening at his home at the VOC-kade, a recently built complex in the Oostenburg district. Police said at the time they were treating the incident as a crime.

Moroni had lived in Amsterdam since 2009 and worked as a software engineer, having previously spent time in Switzerland and Germany, the Parool reported.

He had recently returned from a visit to his family in Allumiere, 60km north-west of Rome, where his father owns a restaurant.

Moroni’s family told Italian media that they had been unable to contact him since last Sunday. One of his brothers described him as ‘serene and peaceful’, adding: ‘I’ve never seen him sad.’

The family’s lawyer, Bruno Forestieri, was quoted in Italian media as saying his death was ‘definitely a homicide’. ‘The confidentiality with which the Dutch police are carrying out the investigation confirms that,’ he said.

Amsterdam police said the suspect was a 38-year-old man from Rotterdam of Moroccan origin, but gave no further details about the investigation.