"The trial has effectively been torpedoed by his leaving the country," prosecutor Martin Kenny said. "I would have thought eBay would have been keen to give evidence to allow the court to get to the bottom of this case."

Judge Philip Wassall told the jury he considered ordering a plane carrying Morgan from Exeter to Belfast to turn around while in mid air so the man, described only as an "eBay employee," could offer his testimony. The judge decided against that option after considering the inconvenience to other passengers.

An eBay spokeswoman in the US referred inquiries to the company's UK offices. Attempts to reach those people outside of business hours there weren't successful.

The trial of 20-year-old Alisdair Noon of Torquay concerns an alleged conspiracy to defraud eBay buyers by failing to deliver low-cost items listed on the site. Two other men, Paul Kelly, 39, of Paignton, and Ricky Worden, 29, of Belfast, have pleaded guilty to conspiracy to defraud in the case and are scheduled to be sentenced in December.

The trial comes as some eBay users complain that fraud on the auction site has reached unacceptable levels. eBay says the vast majority of its auctions go off without a hitch.

A witness summons has been issued, and Morgan may also be subject to an order for wasted court costs.

The Herald Express article is available here. ®