Fugitive drugs smuggler Simon Cowmeadow died from a single gunshot to the head before his body was dumped at the side of the road in a deserted area of Amsterdam.

The body of the 40-year-old Flaxley dad was found five years after he went on the run to avoid jail for his part in a £1.5 million drug smuggling operation.

An inquest in Gloucester heard on Tuesday that Dutch police still believe he was murdered, but had failed to find any hard evidence of a gangland execution.

Gloucestershire deputy coroner David Dooley said because of this he could not be 100 per cent sure if the former plumber had been shot by drugs barons or fired the gun himself. He recorded an open verdict.

Cowmeadow's partner Mandy Brown and other relatives were at the inquest to hear that the Cinderford man known as 'Slapper' was found dead alongside a road near the Zuiderzee, 20km north of Amsterdam on November 18, 2007.

He had been on the run since 2002 when he skipped bail the day before he was due in the dock at Southend Crown Court.

At the time he stood accused of importing 100,000 Ecstasy tablets with a street value of £1.5 million in a lorry load of frozen chips after being found unloading the drugs in an undercover police sting.

Despite a world-wide manhunt he was never found and sentenced to 18 years' prison in his absence.

At the inquest a false passport and driving licence revealed that at the time of his death he had been living under the name of Brian McDowell. Forensic tests established his true identity.

Coroner's officer Terry Onions said that despite extensive inquiries through the British Consulate in the Netherlands, it had been difficult to shed light on his death.

A post mortem examination by the Dutch authorities concluded he died from a single gunshot wound to the left of his head.

A broken right leg which occurred after he had been shot suggested the body had been moved to where it was found.

A second examination carried out by consultant pathologist Dr John McCarthy said there was no evidence that he had been assaulted before his death and ruled out any natural causes. He agreed that a gunshot wound to the right eye was the cause of death.

Deputy coroner Dooley said the Dutch police believed Mr Cowmeadow had been murdered but the only evidence was the way he died. No gun was found near his body.

He said: "Given the nature of the drugs offences for which he had left the country, I think it is a reasonable assumption that he would have been mixing with the same type of criminals that had been previously involved.

"But that does not necessarily mean one of them shot him."

Cowmeadow was living in Flaxley and had a 12-year-old son with former partner Mandy Brown, from Cinderford.

She attended the inquest with his mother Sandra Powell and stepfather Bill Powell but the family refused to comment.