A VICTIM of two conmen who went on the run with £500,000 of their customers’ cash eight years ago says he fears the pair may never face justice.

Father and son Gary and Ryan Upson, from Darlington, have not been seen since May 2004, when they fled to Portugal, leaving clients of their Just Trucks business thousands of pounds out of pocket.

Extradition proceedings to bring them back from their European hideaway stalled in 2010, with detectives saying the case has not moved forward since then.

While the men were initially thought by police to be in Portugal, their whereabouts are currently unknown.

Tom Blair, from Middlesbrough, lost £62,000 after contacting the company, which sold horseboxes and other customised vehicles. He wanted to buy a motor home for his disabled son, Iain, who died in 2009.

Despite handing over the money, he never received the vehicle.

Speaking to The Northern Echo, Mr Blair, 70, said he is financially secure and has moved on from his dealings with the Upsons, more than ten years ago.

He said: “I do not think about it. It is money that has gone, it was not the total amount of money I had to spend.

“It was my money, not my son’s, it is not as though it came from his benefits.

“Financially, it did not affect me as much as people that have lost a lot less.”

Mr Blair said the company was recommended to him by a friend who had dealt with the Upsons.

Asked if he thought the pair would ever be brought to account, Mr Blair said it was unlikely.

Detective Constable Dave Sampson, from Durham Police’s fraud squad, said the Upsons, who have never faced questioning over the allegations against them, would be detained should they ever return to the UK.

He said: “We put a file to the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) to make an application for a European arrest warrant, and a decision was made that there was insufficient evidence to progress it.

“Both men are still wanted.

When they enter the UK, they will be arrested.”

Gary Upson is believed to be in his mid-70s now, and his son is in his early 40s.

With the CPS having blocked attempts to have the men extradited, Det Con Sampson confirmed an active investigation into their dealings is not ongoing.

He said: “There is no proactive search for the pair ongoing abroad at the present time. We have got to wait for them to flag up on a UK system.

“My hope always was that he would come back to the UK for some form of free healthcare and his son would accompany him, but that has not happened.

“Without the European arrest warrant, our hands are tied.”