Police fear manslaughter accused may have fled

ONE of the men accused of the manslaughter of eight refugees found in a container in Wexford was missing on the final day of his trial in Belgium yesterday.

Flamour Domi, 45, described as the Belgian chief executive of the trafficking gang, was on bail and did not appear in court in Bruges. His lawyer said he had a heart condition and would be present for the verdict and possible sentencing on March 25.

However, police investigating the gang said they feared he had absconded. Two of the eight charged have never been caught by police and they are being tried in their absence. A Turk who organised the multi-million euro trafficking business from his home in London, Ozgur Doganbaloglu, 42, is believed to have fled to the US. His main accomplice in Belgium, Zogaj Bekim, 22, an Albanian Kosovan asylum seeker, is also missing and believed to be hiding in Britain. One of the accused, Donald Domi, 20, admitted to the court yesterday that he had worked for Mr Bekim, but said it was only in a very small way.