Mark Adrian Perry, 42, has not been seen since August 31, 2007, when he left Sage's Cafe Restaurant on the Gold Coast after a meeting with a man who had been subpoenaed to appear at an Australian Crime Commission hearing to give evidence in the case.

Chartres-Abbott was shot dead on June 4, 2003, as he was leaving a Reservoir home to attend a County Court hearing concerning serious criminal offences.

He had been charged with raping and assaulting Perry's former girlfriend.

The man who took the contract and fired the fatal shots has since pleaded guilty.

The gunman, who cannot be named, has made a statement implicating five other men in the murder, including one serving and one former policeman.

He claims a policeman, Detective Sergeant Peter ''Stash'' Lalor, who has since retired from the force, provided the victim's address and an alibi for the gunman.

Perry, a Melbourne drug importer, has not been seen since he was warned by Warren Schievella - the man accused of facilitating the murder - that he was under investigation.

Detective Inspector Waddell, said: ''We believe Perry holds the key to this investigation.

''If we can locate him it will make a significant contribution to the outcome of the inquiry,'' he said. '

Perry, who is a former Melbourne butcher, has lived in the Northern Territory, Queensland and Western Australia and has owned property in Thailand.

He has worked as a bouncer and once owned a personal-training business.

He has strong connections within the underworld and has been a drug importer for nearly a decade.

With DANIELLA MILETIC