PORTS CHECK FOR DRUGS ACCUSED

AUTHORITIES are checking ports around the country in their search for
missing businessman Tony Mokbel.

Mr Mokbel vanished only days before his drug trial was expected to
end, sparking a global search.

Police have scoured international and domestic flight passenger lists
and circulated the millionaire's picture to international police forces.

If Mr Mokbel has left the country, one theory is that he may have left
via a ship possibly from interstate.

But there remain fears for Mr Mokbel's safety.

He had pleaded not guilty to playing a key role in the importation of
3kg of cocaine from Mexico in 2000.

Mr Mokbel's lawyers who this week withdrew from the case have said
his disappearance was out of character. They have said he had
fulfilled his bail conditions until last Monday, when he did not
appear in court.

This week, Justice Bill Gillard instructed jurors in Mr Mokbel's drug
importation trial not to speculate over why he might not have appeared
in court as required.

"His absence may be due to a number of reasons and one has been raised
and that is a question of his safety," he said. "There may be
inferences you can draw, but let's wait until we get all the facts."

Days before he had disappeared, prosecutors requested that his bail be
revoked.

Now Mr Mokbel has been flagged as a fugitive on Interpol's "wanted"
database.

The Lebanon-born property developer, who speaks Arabic, is tagged with
an Interpol red notice that seeks a warrant for his arrest.

Criminologist Paul Wilson said fugitives who enjoyed affluent
lifestyles usually chose to flee for Europe.

But the Lebanese capital, Beirut, may prove a popular choice for those
with money and who are proficient in the language.

"Beirut would be very attractive. It's a lot more stable now than it
was, but it's not hugely stable," he said.

"It used to be known as the Paris of the Middle East and there you can
buy protection."

Mr Wilson believed that although it was harder to slip through the net
in Australia, it was still possible.