A COUSIN of Mohamed Lahouaiej Bouhlel’s wife says the Nice suspect was a “nasty piece of work” who beat his wife and was not a Muslim.

Walid Hamou, a cousin of Nice suspect Bouhlel’s wife Hajer Khalfallah , told MailOnline: “Bouhlel was not religious. He did not go to the mosque, he did not pray, he did not observe Ramadan.” “He drank alcohol, ate pork and took drugs. This is all forbidden under Islam,” he said. “He was not a Muslim, he was a s***. He beat his wife, my cousin, he was a nasty piece of work. The comments came as French police raided the suspect’s home and held his wife for questioning. The man, 31, was not known by the Tunisian authorities to hold radical or Islamist views. Bouhlel was married with three children but it is reported they the couple were planning to divorce. He came from the Tunisian town of Msaken which he last visited four years ago, Tunisian security sources say. Neighbours described him as a loner with no visible religious affiliation. They portrayed him as a solitary figure who rarely spoke and did not even return greetings when their paths crossed in the four-storey block, located in a working-class neighbourhood of Nice. Sebastien, a neighbour who spoke on condition that his full name was not used, said Bouhlel did not seem overtly religious, often dressed in shorts and sometimes wore work boots. He had a van parked nearby and owned a bike, which he brought up into his first-floor apartment. Of those who were interviewed, only one, a neighbour on the ground floor, said she had had any concerns about him – he was “a good-looking man who kept giving my two daughters the eye.” Police investigators and forensic experts entered his apartment with an armed police intervention unit in support, and brought out bags of material later. He was behind the wheel of the truck that ploughed into a massive crowd at Bastille Day celebrations on the Promenade des Anglais in Nice. Witnesses said the driver was “zigzagging” so he could hit as many people as possible. Police say a large cache of weapons, including rifles and grenades, was found in the back of the truck. Pro-ISIS groups have been celebrating after the attack, but the terror group has not yet claimed official responsibility. Mobile app users click here for blog FOLLOW OUR LIVE UPDATES BELOW: