Alleged Northern Ireland conman called Elijah vanishes from custody while on compassionate leave – prisoner has distinctive tattoos and GBH conviction

Elijah Martin Gavin went “unlawfully at large” from HMP Magilligan on April 13; the News Letter has only now found out about his disappearance by chance, since the Department of Justice did nothing to actively alert the media to it.

He is 26, has green eyes, and is five foot, eight inches.

He also has the following tattoos: “baby johny” on his lower left arm, a snake on his right shoulder, a cross on his chest, and a pearl on his lower right arm.

CRIMINAL CHARGES:

Last year he was charged with fraud by false representation, namely that he allegedly helped try and con a woman out of £40,000.

He also faces charges of driving without insurance, and without a valid licence.

Gavin had been due to appear in court on May 6, but now cannot be found.

Last July in Belfast Magistrates’ Court, district judge Anne Marshall was asked to free him on bail for four hours to attend his grandmother’s funeral.

She refused, citing concerns he may not return.

At that time, Gavin (then with an address at Ollardale Park in Ballyclare) was among four people charged with fraud.

A court had been told a 65-year-old woman was phoned last May by a co-accused of Gavin, informed that her home was about to be robbed, and told that £40,000 stored in the house needed to be “offloaded” for safekeeping.

The woman brought the cash to a primary school on the Knockbreda Road in Belfast, where she was allegedly met by Gavin and two other “pick-up men”.

Police arrested the men and recovered £40,000 from a car stopped a short time later.

Gavin was only facing charges in connection with that incident, but a court was told by a detective that he had suspected links to to an organised scammer gang.

Between January 2020 and May 2021 a total of 40 victims lost £190,000 in cash and £15,000 worth of jewellery, the court was told, with a detective claiming the 65-year-old complainant was among the youngest to be targeted.

“A couple of weeks earlier they told another woman her husband was going to be arrested for paedophilia if she didn’t hand over £20,000 in cash,” he said.

“It’s about putting victims in as much fear as possible, so they act without thinking by going to the bank to withdraw money or handing over cash and jewellery from their houses to what they believe are police officers.”

Gavin has not been convicted in relation to this case, or entered any pleas.

The case against him is ongoing.

The Department of Justice – which quietly added his name to its missing prisoners webpage at some point in the last couple of weeks – said he has existing convictions for drug possession, burglary and grievous bodily harm.

If you see anyone matching his description please call your nearest police station, or contact CRIMESTOPPERS on 0800 555 111.

DoJ CITES DATA PROTECTION AS IT BLOCKS LIST OF ABSCONDERS:

Meanwhile the Department of Justice (D0J) has today refused a freedom-of-information request the News Letter had submitted at the start of April.

The paper had sought the details of all individuals who had been “unlawfully at large” since 2002 (the DoJ only lists current absconders on its website, not ones who have since been re-captured).

The DoJ responded by saying “disclosure of the information would contravene individuals’ rights under data protection principles”.

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