The prime suspect questioned over the disappearance of a Dumbarton mum may never be found, it is claimed.
Gangster Dean Woods was in prison over a £12million cocaine ring when he went missing while on day release in November.
He is believed to have travelled to Northern Ireland and an underworld source told the Daily Record his criminal connections and sailing expertise could help him comfortably live the rest of his life as a fugitive.
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The 40-year-old is the prime suspect in the disappearance of Lisa Brown. The 32-year-old mum vanished in 2015 while living in the Costa Del Sol.
The alarm was raised when she failed to pick up her son from school and it is feared she was murdered and her body dumped at sea.
Woods went on the run after suspicion fell on him and he was arrested on a European arrest warrant at Heathrow Airport in April 2018 and extradited back to Spain.
However, the case against the father-of-two was closed over a lack of evidence.
Woods worked as a luxury yacht dealer before being exposed as a high-level and "highly trusted" member of a sophisticated drug gang, he uses the alias Simon Corner and could go the rest of his life undetected.
A gangland source said: "It's no surprise someone like Dean managed to vanish. And that's what he's done - vanished. There's talk he fled to Northern Ireland but he's been missing for more than two months now.
"The trail for someone like this goes cold pretty quickly, the first few hours and days are the most important. After that, there's more time to have changed his appearance and gone further afield, where people have no idea who he is or that he's even wanted.
"The criminal and professional contacts he has and the fact he can sail, means he could easily live his life on the seas. You don't live the life he's led unless you're extremely resourceful."
A police source added: "Officers are really worried that he's gone and will never be seen again. They would've wanted him located, caught and locked back up within hours of going on the run. He had a huge head start due to the fact that he was on day release."
Doctor William Graham, senior lecturer in criminology at Dundee's Abertay University, retired from Strathclyde Police in 2010 after 30 years' service. He said: "People who abscond from prison in such circumstances, can have access to resources to remove themselves from the country, like using false details, passports to escape law enforcement agencies. Police will never stop looking for fugitives."
Woods failed to return to HMP Sudbury in Derbyshire on November 19. A spokesman for Derbyshire Police said: "We are continuing to make inquiries and appeal for information."
Woods was part of a six-strong cocaine gang who ferried 500kg of the deadly drug from Merseyside to London, Bradford, Nottingham, Sheffield, Newcastle and other sites.
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