A bench warrant was issued today after the man who flogged his passport for €2,000 before it was later used by mob boss Daniel Kinahan failed to show up in court.
Seamus Walsh was due to be sentenced over the offence at Dundalk Circuit Court but he was nowhere to be seen when his name was called.
The court heard that he told his defence team on Sunday that he would be attending his aunt’s funeral today.
READ MORE - Man who sold passport used by Daniel Kinahan says he was 'off his head' and didn't know who it was for
The 43-year-old's lawyers attempted to establish his aunt's name which would in turn allow gardai to check if a funeral was taking place.
Despite numerous attempts, they were unable to contact him.
Judge Dara Hayes issued a bench warrant for Walsh's arrest.
Before Walsh's no-show, he had pleaded guilty to selling his passport.
On the last occasion Walsh was in court in February, the judge warned that a custodial sentence was a real possibility for his crime.
Walsh, Mountain View Crescent in Dundalk, sold his passport for €2,000 in 2011 before it later got into Kinahan's hands.
Kinahan used the bogus document to travel into Dubai and Spain before it was revoked in 2017.
The court previously heard how Walsh was "off his head on drugs" and "in the throes of heroin addiction" when he sold the document.
Det Garda Feidhlim McKenna of the National Bureau of Criminal Investigation said the probe established that the passport was dispatched to Walsh in 2011.
However the supporting documentation used to apply for it - an electricity bill, a driver's licence and a bank statement - were all found to be bogus.
The picture used did not match that of Walsh's public services card.
Det Gda McKenna said of the picture on the passport: "This photo belongs to Daniel Joseph Kinahan, a senior figure in organised crime."
In garda interviews in 2018, Walsh eventually made full admissions to the officers.
Walsh had been a heroin addict at the time of selling his passport but had been clean since 2016.
The court had heard that he was a full-time carer for his elderly mum and volunteers at a GAA club in Dundalk.
When approached by The Irish Mirror in March, Walsh greeted our reporter but told us: "I've nothing to say."
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