The Old Bailey murder trial of two men accused of

The Old Bailey murder trial of two men accused of axing to death a credit card fraudster has been halted after the charge was dropped against one of the pair.

Manokumar Kumar, 31, bled to death after his right arm was virtually severed in the attack in his north London home last October.

The alleged axeman Ruben Thanavalisingham, 19, and the victim were part of a Tamil gang making huge sums from using stolen credit cards to buy goods at petrol stations run by fellow Sri Lankans around London.

But after four days of evidence, alleged gang member Parama ‘Tillac’ Thilagesvaran, 27, was acquitted of murder after the prosecution offered no evidence against him due to insufficient evidence.

Judge Ann Goddard QC discharged the jury following the decision.

Parama Thilagesvaran, of Haselbury Road, Edmonton, had denied murder.

Ruben Thanavalisingham, of Moree Way, Edmonton, continues to deny murdering Mr Kumar between Ocobter 29 and November 1 last year.

And a third man Siluvai ‘Sukri’ Mano, 27, of Bridgewater Rd, Alperton, denies doing acts tending to pervert the course of public justice between October 29 and November 9 last year.

The prosecution claim Mano, who also has an address in Barking Road, East Ham, helped dispose of the incriminating items and let Ruben stay at his east London home after the killing.

Thanavalisingham and Mano now face a new trial at a later date.

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