Police are hunting a fugitive who imported firearms through Kent and failed to show up at court.

Polish national Rafal Wojciech Habiak, 40, should have appeared to stand trial at Canterbury Crown Court in August, but failed to attend and is now at large.

He was eventually convicted in his absence after the judge ruled the trial should continue - and now officers from the National Crime Agency (NCA) are appealing for information to find him.

Habiak, who lived in Grimsby at the time, was initially arrested in 2018, after Border Force officers at Dover recovered a handgun and ammunition hidden under the floor of a Mercedes car, and a rucksack containing ten cartridges of CS gas.

After being interviewed by NCA officers, he was charged and pleaded guilty to importation offences, for which he was jailed for five years.

While he was still serving his sentence, NCA investigators received further information from a download of material on his phone, suggesting more weapons might be still concealed in the vehicle, which had been seized following his arrest.

One message to Habiak read: “You will need to dismantle the car a bit to get one.”

As a result, further searches were carried out and an Ekol pistol containing five live rounds, a flare pistol, and additional rounds of ammunition were found.

Habiak, who was released from prison in January 2021 and moved to Cleethorpes, was additionally charged with conspiring to import firearms alongside the man who had sent him that message, Marcin Matwijow, 44, from Liverpool.

Both men were bailed pending court proceedings.

Matwijow eventually chose to plead guilty and was sentenced to seven years and ten months in jail.

In his absence, a jury at Canterbury Crown took less than half an hour to find Habiak guilty. On October 3, a judge sentenced him to a further 18 months in prison, taking into account the sentence he had already served.

A warrant has been issued for his arrest.

NCA Branch Commander Adam Berry said: “Rafal Habiak lived in Grimsby and Cleethorpes area at the time of his offending and also had contacts in the Liverpool area. I have no doubt that there is someone out there who has information on his whereabouts.

“Anyone who assisting him while he is at large should also know that they may be committing an offence in doing so.

“Gun smuggling is an extremely serious offence, and we are determined to do all we can to ensure Habiak is tracked down and serves his full sentence.”

Anyone with information can call the NCA directly on 0370 496 7622, or contact Crimestoppers anonymously online or by phone on 0800 555 111.