Interpol launches hunt for fugitive Scot ‘who killed teacher’ in Burma
A SCOTTISH murder suspect is now at the heart of an international manhunt after being added to Interpol’s most-wanted list.
Harris Binotti, a 26-year-old backpacker and teacher, is accused of beating a father of one to death and has been on the run since November.
Binotti fled his home in Burma, also known as Myanmar, after his colleague Gary Ferguson, 47, was found dead following a ‘hard blow to his chest and his head’.
The body of the Irishman, an English teacher, was discovered in Binotti’s flat in the capital city Rangoon after they had spent a Friday night on the town.
The pair – who worked at the Horizon International School – had allegedly fought and neighbours reported hearing violence.
But the body of Mr Ferguson was only discovered the next morning after his Thai-born wife, Nong, went looking for him, concerned he had not been answering his mobile phone.
Binotti is believed to have fled the country on a Thai Airways flight to Bangkok but detectives then lost his trail.
The investigation has since stalled, with Myanmar police unable to pursue him across the border. Mr Ferguson’s distraught family embarked upon their own search for the suspect, asking travellers across South-East Asia to report possible sightings to them.
Now, five months later, the International Criminal Police Organisation (Interpol) has issued a ‘red notice’ for Binotti, from Dumfries.
This puts him on their list of ‘wanted persons’ and means police forces can begin co-operating across national boundaries, with a view to extraditing him to face charges in Burma.
The notice has been posted online, giving his full name as Harris John Italo Binotti and explaining he is ‘wanted by the judicial authorities of Myanmar for prosecution/to serve a sentence’. It also includes a description and passport photo of Binotti, who lived in Aberdeen for a time before going travelling.
Yesterday, Mr Ferguson’s brother Martin, 50, said the development had caused his mother to weep tears of relief.
He said: ‘They can trace his digital footprint and find out where he went from Bangkok.
‘They will be co-operating with police worldwide.
‘Behind the scenes we didn’t really know what was needed to get the red notice.
‘Everything will now fall into place – it took some hammering but at last we got what we wanted.
‘We hope the UK police and British people will keep their eyes and ears open to help us get this suspect. It’s been so hard on all of us.’
Mr Ferguson was the father of a four-year-old son, Jeremy. In January, the teacher’s 32-year-old widow said: ‘Jeremy can’t really understand what has happened but his dad was everything to him.
‘He is very like his father – always curious and hungry for knowledge, a special little boy.’
The family had been devastated by the failure to immediately start an international manhunt for Binotti, who worked at a French ski resort before travelling to Burma.
Interpol said Binotti was added to its list last week.
A spokesman said: ‘A red notice is a request to provisionally arrest an individual pending extradition issued by the General Secretariat upon the request of a member country based on a valid national arrest warrant. It is not an international arrest warrant.
‘The individuals concerned are wanted by national jurisdictions, or international criminal tribunals where appropriate, and Interpol’s role is to assist national police forces in identifying or locating those individuals with a view to their arrest and extradition.’
‘Help us get this suspect’