A man of Maltese descent who had fled to Malta in 2000 in a bid to escape British justice for kidnapping and murdering a London businessman, is back in court appealing the life sentence handed down by the British courts in 2001.

Joseph Francis Mercieca, now 37, appeared in court at the Old Bailey this week together with his accomplice Patrick Smith over the brutal killing of Mark Levy, a British used car salesman.

In July 2002, Mr Mercieca and Mr Smith were both given life sentences for abducting Mr Levy, driving him to a remote farm and executing him in the woods in revenge for swindling Mr Smith out of £40,000 during a previous cigarette smuggling deal.

Mr Mercieca was also accused of exhuming Mr Levy’s body from the shallow grave in which he had been buried, dismembering the body and re-burying it in another location. Mr Levy’s remains have not been found to this day.

Shortly after the murder, Mr Mercieca fled to Malta, where he evidently had connections, through a roundabout route via Derbyshire, Wales, Ireland, Greece, Turkey, Cyprus, Holland, France and Italy.

By late 2000 the British authorities had lost track of Mr Mercieca and all they had to work on was a hunch that Mr Mercieca was hiding in Malta. The Hertfordshire chief constable informed the Maltese authorities of their strong suspicion that Mr Mercieca had escaped to Malta. A Maltese arrest warrant was issued and a large-scale manhunt ensued.

Mr Mercieca was eventually tracked down in Marsascala where he was dining with his wife, and officers from the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) and the Special Assignment Group (SAG) took him into custody. Mr Mercieca had turned violent, resisted arrest and was eventually held at the Valletta lock up under 24-hour maximum security while the Maltese courts considered a UK extradition request.

On 15 January 2001, the Maltese courts accepted the British courts’ request and Mr Mercieca surrendered himself voluntarily and unconditionally to the British authorities. He was flown back for trial in the UK under heavy police escort.

Taking the stand in an appeal trial this week, Mr Levy’s widow spoke of the last time she saw her husband alive in January 2000.

She told the jury at the Old Bailey this week: “He came out of the house and we had a little joke at the front door. I never saw him again. I tried to phone him at one o’clock and he didn’t answer. He couldn’t answer because they’d murdered him.”

She turned to the dock and added: “Hadn’t you, you bastards?” Smith and Mercieca are reported to have betrayed no emotion during the outburst.

The court was told how Mr Levy had been lured into a business deal by one of Smith’s associates using an offer of 12 Rolex watches worth about £200,000 for just £45,000 as bait.

Mrs Levy recounted that she had warned her husband that the jewellery deal appeared too good to be true. When Mr Levy arrived at the meeting point he was allegedly bound, gagged, bundled into the boot of Smith’s car and driven to a remote farm.

Unbeknownst to the killers, police tracking a £1.2 million shipment of cannabis due to arrive from The Netherlands on the same day had Smith’s car under surveillance but no idea that Mr Levy was in the boot.

Once at the farm, Mr Levy was allegedly ordered to walk into the woods, where he was shot and buried. Mr Levy was never seen again. A shallow grave was eventually found after another accomplice pleaded guilty and led investigators to the burial spot, but Mr Levy’s remains were nowhere to be found.

Mr Mercieca is thought to have returned to the site, exhumed the body, dismembered it and shifted the remains to another location.

During the first trial, a police inspector heading the investigation, known as Operation Alfalfa, appealed to the killers: “You know where Mark Levy’s body is buried. Have pity on his wife and children and tell them where it is so that he can be laid to rest with some dignity.”

Smith and Mercieca continue to deny the charges they have already been found guilty of. The trial continues next week.