Criminals On The Run In Spain?

MARBELLA, Spain (Reuters) – A tip-off hotline set up by a former British policeman on the Costa del Sol has nabbed three British criminals on the run in Spain and impressed local police looking for new ways to tackle organized crime. Boys look at a sports car at Banus port in Marbella, on the Costa del Sol, southern Spain, May 24, 2007.

The Spanish coast is a popular bolthole for criminals fleeing the law because they can blend easily into thriving expatriate communities, like the 500,000 foreigners resident in the southern province of Andalusia;

REUTERS/Jon Nazca The Spanish coast is a popular bolthole for criminals fleeing the law because they can blend easily into thriving expatriate communities, like the 500,000 foreigners resident in the southern province of Andalusia. The mainly British suburb of Nueva Andalucia lies just inland from the flashy port of Puerto Banus, where luxury yachts bob in their moorings and Ferraris park alongside a promenade lined with top-end stores like Gucci and Dolce and Gabbana.

“It’s that attraction of being in a nice, sunny environment, lost among the expats in a community of people where most people don’t know much about them anyway,” said Dave Cording, who worked as a police officer for 33 years before becoming Director of Operations at British criminal-hunting charity Crimestoppers.

Operation Captura – Hunting British fugitives on-the-run in Spain

Crimestoppers, in the first campaign to target British criminals living on the Costa del Sol, encouraged anyone who recognized the wanted criminals on its Web site www. mostwanted-uk. org to call a Spanish free-phone number. Calls are answered in the UK by Crimestoppers call-handlers.

“We don’t want to know who you are, just what you know,” a banner reads on the site. The concept of giving information anonymously in a criminal investigation is unknown in Spain, where police witnesses must identify themselves.

While the scheme targets Britons, Germans make up the biggest group of criminals on the run in Spain by nationality, police say, followed by the French, Italians, Belgians and British. The British runaways often continue their life of crime, falling in with local gangs.

Violent gun attacks involving expats are not unusual in the area surrounding Marbella. Last August, a London man with a Spanish criminal record was shot dead at close range on the terrace of a busy bar in the development, where pink and white villas and apartments lie behind manicured hedges smothered in purple bougainvillea.

“We were just so lucky that they didn’t get anyone else. we were very busy at the time,” said a waitress who was working that night in The Point bar.

Who are the most-wanted British fugitives on the run in Spain?

Twelve most-wanted British fugitives on the run in Spain have today been named by police. They include alleged drug kingpins, two suspects wanted for murder and underworld armourers. The hit list was released as part of the Most Wanted campaign — a joint initiative between the National Crime Agency, Crimestoppers and Spanish police.

Steve Rodhouse, the NCA’s Director General of Operations, said at the launch in Madrid on Wednesday: “Spain is not a safe haven;
“We have a brilliant relationship with the country’s various law enforcement agencies and work together daily to protect the public;

“With 86 offenders arrested in our last fugitives campaign, criminals know we will never give up and we’re never far behind them. ” He said the Spanish authorities arrested and returned more than 25 wanted UK fugitives last year. Mr Rodhouse added: “Many of these fugitives will be trying to blend in to the large British communities who have made their homes in Spain, and if you are resident, you may know one of them from your town or village.

Who are the people who went on the run in Liverpool?

‘Unlucky 13’ – Charity Crimestoppers said it was targeting wanted British citizens in Spain. An NCA spokesman said McCartney, who was convicted of abusing three boys, was arrested at about 16:30 local time and is now due to appear before a Spanish court to face extradition proceedings.

He was found guilty in March 2013 but failed to attend court the following month to be sentenced;
Among the others in the group, dubbed the “unlucky 13” by Crimestoppers, is Robert Mortby, 26, from London, suspected of attempted murder over an attack on a man in Elephant and Castle;

He is suspected of being one of two men who attacked and shot a man in July last year. Brian Thexton, 37, from Durham, is accused of being part of gang of robbers and is also awaiting trial for conspiracy to supply cocaine. In one of the robberies the gang impersonated police officers to dupe the victims into opening the door, before brandishing a pick axe handle and a baseball bat.

All thirteen men are subject to a European Arrest Warrant (EAW) which would enable Spanish authorities to detain them and then extradite them to the UK. Since 2009, a total of 277 British nationals have been surrendered to the UK by European police forces using EAWs.

Image caption, Daniel Bowes, 43, from London, is wanted on suspicion of conspiracy to supply cocaine. Image caption, Stephen Blundell, 35, from Liverpool, is a convicted heroin dealer who went on the run when bailed pending sentencing. Image caption, Daniel Dugic, 32, from Serbia, allegedly plotted to bring 225kg of cocaine into the UK.

Image caption, David Hewson, 31, from Liverpool, was jailed for 11 years in his absence for being part of a drug dealing gang;
Image caption, Robert Knight, 52, from Walsall, allegedly helped arrange for 6kg of cocaine to be smuggled to London Heathrow;

Image caption, David Mather, 57, from Manchester, was convicted of conspiracy to import heroin but went on the run before sentencing. Image caption, Michael McCartney, 78, from Hertfordshire, was found guilty of nine counts of indecent assault but failed to attend court for sentencing.

Image caption, Christopher Mealey, 37, from London, is accused of being a member of the same drug smuggling gang as Daniel Bowes. Image caption, Robert Mortby, 26, from London, is one of two men suspected of attempted murder after a man in south London was attacked with a bottle and shot.

Image caption, Ian Stanton, 42, from Liverpool, is suspected of attempting to smuggle 400kg of cocaine into the UK hidden in a cargo of Argentine beef. Image caption, Brian Thexton, 37, from Durham, is accused of being involved in robberies in which victims were forced to hand over alarm codes.

He is also awaiting trial on drug charges. Image caption, Keith Turner, 60, from Northumbria – seen here aged 46 – was arrested in 2000 for suspected embezzlement after being released on licence for manslaughter.

Image caption, Lee Willis, 30, from Greater Manchester admitted possessing cocaine and cannabis and was facing a charge of dealing before he went on the run.

Is Spain a safe haven for paedophiles?

Image caption, Among the men named by British police in Spain were Michael McCartney (left), Brian Thexton and Robert Mortby Thirteen of Britain’s most-wanted criminals, thought to be on the run in Spain, have been named by the National Crime Agency. The list has been released as part of Operation Captura aimed at tracing criminals who are in hiding. One of the 13, paedophile Michael McCartney, 78, from Letchworth, Hertfordshire, was detained in Alicante hours after the appeal. The NCA said “Spain is not a safe haven”.

Do you have an EAW warrant for Spanish police officers?

He was found guilty in March 2013 but failed to attend court the following month to be sentenced. Among the others in the group, dubbed the “unlucky 13” by Crimestoppers, is Robert Mortby, 26, from London, suspected of attempted murder over an attack on a man in Elephant and Castle.