British fugitive on UK's most wanted list arrested in Orihuela Costa
The 51-year-old was wanted for an outstanding eight-and-a-half-year sentence for fraud and money laundering
The Guardia Civil has arrested one of the UK's twelve most wanted fugitives in Orihuela Costa as part of the international Most Wanted campaign targeting people linked to organised crime who may be hiding out in Spain.
The man, a 51-year-old British national, was the subject of an international arrest warrant issued by the UK, where he is currently serving an eight-and-a-half-year prison sentence for fraud and money laundering.
He was tracked down almost by chance. Officers from the Alicante Guardia Civil's Homicide, Missing Persons and Fugitives from Justice Team had been investigating an unrelated murder in Orihuela Costa when their enquiries led them to a man whose identity checks flagged him as wanted by British authorities and named on the UK's list of twelve most wanted fugitives. He was arrested with support from the Citizen Security Unit (USECIC) of the Alicante Command.
A search of his home turned up €22,000 in cash along with several false identity documents. According to the Guardia Civil, he had been using them to pass himself off under a different name. He now also faces an additional charge of document forgery.
He has been taken to the Court of First Instance of Alicante, acting as duty court, and will subsequently be placed at the disposal of the National Court, which handles extradition cases.
This is the second time this year that someone on the UK's most wanted list has been arrested in Alicante province. The first came in May, around the time the campaign was launched locally, when the Guardia Civil detained another fugitive wanted by British authorities during an operation targeting a network involved in drug trafficking and document forgery.
Image: Guardia Civil
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