SCANDAL AXEMAN
A FUGITIVE who launched a UK cage fighting career while on the run for an attempted axe murder in Romania has been released on bail while he fights extradition.
Ionut Nastiuc is one of a string of foreign fugitives suspected or convicted of murders and violent crimes abroad who have been brazenly living in the UK before being arrested to face extradition, a Sunday Express probe can reveal.
Nastiuc, 29, was last year convicted of attempted murder by axing a man in the head and shoulder. But he fled to Britain before the five-year sentence was imposed.
He then established a career here as a cage fighter, with bouts shown on Youtube, before he was caught on a European Arrest Warrant.
And at least four other suspected or convicted murderers from eastern Europe are going through the extradition process after being arrested on warrants after living here for up to three years.
In some cases, fugitives are suspected of committing further crimes while here. Some suspects have also been able to apply for legal aid to fight their extradition.
One of the suspects, a Lithuanian who cannot be named for legal reasons, is believed to have been involved in drug supply while on the run in England and wanted on a murder charge back home.
Another facing a murder charge in Ireland has also been accused of carrying out vehicle theft sprees across the south of England.
Nastiuc, living in Warrington, was taking part in cage fighting events in the UK before being arrested in Cheshire earlier this year. Despite his conviction, he was freed on bail at Westminster magistrates court last Monday, ahead of the hearing.
He has an electronically monitored curfew, must report to police three times a week and live at the same address. His passport has been surrendered.
One Youtube video shows his April 2018 win on points against rival Andrej Kolas in a samurai Challenge 3 semi-pro middleweight bout atwarrington’s Parr Hall.
His fight against Adam Ryan was also top billing at the GPUK Night of the Gladiators at Royal Music Hall, Hanley, on June 18, 2018.
A Romanian media report last September said Nastiuc, from Ostra, near the Ukraine border, carried out the attack in September 2011. He received the five-year sentence and lost his appeal. He was said to have hit the victim in the head and shoulder with the axe, leaving him needing lengthy hospital treatment.
However, last night Nastiuc said he was innocent and was twice cleared before the case was reopened in 2017. He claimed the victim was an organised criminal with a vendetta and that there was no axe. “I was the victim. There is much corruption in Romania. When I came to the UK the case was closed, that is why I was not hiding.
“I handed myself in when I heard about it and they let me out of prison on Monday as Romania is not providing any information.”
Another Romanian, Alexandru Iordache, 45, of no fixed abode, is due back atwestminster magistrates court this month, facing extradition to Ireland on suspicion of murder. The Garda declined to give any details about the case.
In March 2018, Sussex Police issued an appeal for information about the whereabouts of Iordache and his brother Eugen, 34.
The appeal was in connection with an attempted car theft in Newhaven in July 2016.The pair had gone on the run after failing to answer bail. The appeal said it was thought they had been in Ireland at the start of 2018.
In June the pair appeared at Lewes Crown Court, giving a Doncaster address. Both admitted the attempted theft of a woman’s bag in Newhaven in July 2016 plus another attempted theft this May.
Alexandru Iordache received a 12-month jail term, rendering him liable to deportation, while Eugen got eight months, suspended for two years. Alexandru Iordache is being held in custody as it is feared he would abscond.
Our findings have added to fears about free movement from the EU and our border controls.
Alp Mehmet, chairman of Migration Watch UK, said: “The system is clearly not working.while a hard-pressed Border Force may miss criminals, there’s no justification for allowing known hardened villains to roam the streets while the authorities scratch their heads.”
Albanians, while not from the EU, are known to use the ID papers of Romanians and Bulgarians, who are, to enter the UK illegally.
Granit Shehu, 35, of no fixed abode, is believed to have entered the UK illegally and has been con
‘At least four other suspected or convicted murderers are going through extradition’