Consul’s appeal over missing Lithuanian man

THE Lithuanian Consul in Ireland has appealed to his fellow countrymen living in Cork to help gardaí trace a missing 33-year-old man who may have been murdered.

Consul Vadim Lucenko made the appeal yesterday as gardaí carried out their second day of searches in Co Cork for Raimundas Berzinskas, last seen in Glanmire on December 15.

Berzinskas was charged last October with the manslaughter of fellow Lithuanian, Gintaras Balcionas, whose badly injured body was found in the back garden of 1 Rockgrove Terrace, Lower Glanmire Road, Cork city. He had been released on bail and was awaiting a trial date.

Mr Lucenko said there were up to 110,000 Lithuanians living in Ireland, with several thousand in Cork, and he appealed to them to give any information they might have to gardaí.

Berzinskas came to Ireland a little over two years ago. He has a wife, a young daughter and a mother in Lithuania who are being updated on the garda inquiry. He has no other relatives in this country and last worked here as a carpenter. Gardaí don’t believe he has left the country.

The search narrowed yesterday to 20 acres of land at Blossomgrove, six kilometres east of Glanmire, on the Knockraha Road.

Garda Divisional Search Teams from Cork city, West and North Cork combed farmland and a wooded area, aided by four sniffer dogs, one of which is on loan from the PSNI.

The Garda Sub Aqua team finished a search of a tributary of the River Glashaboy and is reported to have uncovered no significant evidence.

Meanwhile, the Garda Technical Unit carried out forensic examination of a mobile home and two cars.

Inspector Senan Ryan, who is leading the investigation locally, said the search will resume again today in the same area.

He appealed for anybody who may have seen Berzinskas, or knows of his whereabouts, to contact Cobh garda station at [phone], or Anglesea Street garda station at [phone].