A gangster accused of murdering a missing Scots mum may be hiding out across the Irish Sea after escaping from jail.
Dean Woods failed to return to the Derbyshire jail where he is serving a 12-year sentence over an £8million cocaine ring. In 2015, the 40-year-old was charged with “conspiracy to murder” Lisa Brown, of Dumbarton, after she disappeared in Spain.
But the case was put on hold due to a lack of evidence. Officers in England have now told the Record they believe the hood, who worked as a luxury yacht dealer, may have fled across the Irish Sea.
A Derbyshire Police spokesman said: “We are continuing to make inquiries and appeal for information to find Dean Woods, who failed to return to HMP Sudbury on November 19.
“Woods has links to the Liverpool area and we are also investigating the possibility he travelled to Northern Ireland. We would still like to hear from anyone who has seen Woods or has any information on where he is now.”
Woods, who uses the alias Simon Corner, was part of a six-strong cocaine gang who ferried 500kg of the drug from Merseyside to London, Bradford, Nottingham, Sheffield, Newcastle and other locations. The dad of two was a high-level and “highly-trusted” member of the gang, which undertook 30 trips to deliver coke or collect bags of cash.
Liverpool Crown Court heard he was studying with the Open University and, at the time he was caged in 2020, had two young children. The court was told he played a “significant” role in the gang, doing courier journeys and giving orders to other members of the crime group.
Woods was interviewed by police in the Costa Del Sol after mum-of-one Lisa, 32, vanished in 2015. She was reported missing after failing to collect her son from school in Guadiaro, near San Roque. It’s feared she was murdered and her body dumped at sea and Woods went on the run after suspicion fell on him.
He was arrested at Heathrow in April 2018 and extradited back to Spain. But the case was later closed amid a lack of evidence and Lisa’s disappearance has never been solved. Last month, we revealed Lisa’s sister, Helen Jordan, said they are enduring a “never ending living nightmare”.
Helen, 56, said: “It’s a never ending living nightmare. To learn that two years down the line he’s in an open prison and out on day release is absolutely shocking.
“Somebody has mucked up. Someone has made a big mistake. I want him caught. He’s a dangerous individual.”
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