Hundreds of foreign criminals vanish while waiting to be deported

15 July 2023 , 16:51

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Ron Domi, who was accused of child rape in Luton, disappeared

Hundreds of foreign criminals have vanished while awaiting deportation after committing offences including murder.

The Home Office has lost track of 659 serious offenders in the past five years.

The exact number of murders is not revealed in the Freedom of Information request, which says it is “fewer than five”.

Almost a third of the cases relate to drugs but others include child rape, attempted murder, causing death by dangerous driving, fraud and weapons possession. One thug got bail twice, despite being one of Britain’s most wanted.

Romanian criminal Adrian Vasilescu is back on the run after being set free

Alleged people smuggler Goran Jalal is another whois on the run

Romanian Adrian Vasilescu was due to be extradited to his homeland to face trial on a charge of slashing a woman’s throat with a broken bottle. He disappeared for nine years until police arrested him for stabbing his girlfriend in Paisley, near Glasgow, in 2020. He was freed before the end of his trial – and convicted of attempted murder in his absence.

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Others on the run include Albanians Ron Domi – accused of child rape in Luton in 2022 – and alleged people smuggler Goran Jalal, plus Malek Zafar, of Pakistan, accused of attempted rape in Kent. The National Crime Agency is seeking Vasilescu, Domi, Jalal and Zafar.

David Neal, the Independent Chief Inspector of Borders and Immigration, warned that the Home Office “does not have a firm grip” on operations to remove foreign criminals.

The Home Office said: “Foreign nationals who commit crimes here in the UK will face the full force of the law. We never stop tracing absconders.”

Scott Hesketh