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Fugitive who fled court recaptured in Spain | Fugitive who fled court recaptured in Spain |
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A British man who vaulted from the dock and escaped during his trial for armed robbery of a Royal Mail van four years ago has been arrested in a raid on a luxury villa in Spain. | A British man who vaulted from the dock and escaped during his trial for armed robbery of a Royal Mail van four years ago has been arrested in a raid on a luxury villa in Spain. |
He was first tracked down to Spain in November, but escaped by ramming two police vehicles in his 4x4 vehicle. | He was first tracked down to Spain in November, but escaped by ramming two police vehicles in his 4x4 vehicle. |
This time, Andrew Moran, 31, from Salford, was by the swimming pool of a villa in Calpe, near Alicante, with his girlfriend, when a team of armed officers swooped. A search of the villa uncovered two handguns, 60 rounds of ammunition and a machete. His girlfriend has not been charged. | |
Moran has been on the most wanted list of Soca, the Serious Organised Crime Agency, since he absconded in 2009 during a trial at Burnley crown court over a £25,000 robbery in Colne, Lancashire, when two men on a motorbike threatened Royal Mail workers with a handgun, machete and baseball bat, injuring one security guard. | Moran has been on the most wanted list of Soca, the Serious Organised Crime Agency, since he absconded in 2009 during a trial at Burnley crown court over a £25,000 robbery in Colne, Lancashire, when two men on a motorbike threatened Royal Mail workers with a handgun, machete and baseball bat, injuring one security guard. |
As he was being remanded into custody while the jury deliberated at the close of the six-week trial, Moran attacked security guards, jumped from the dock, and escaped the court building. The jury returned a guilty verdict in his absence, but he has not been sentenced. | As he was being remanded into custody while the jury deliberated at the close of the six-week trial, Moran attacked security guards, jumped from the dock, and escaped the court building. The jury returned a guilty verdict in his absence, but he has not been sentenced. |
Extradition proceedings have begun and he is due to appear in court in Madrid on Monday. | Extradition proceedings have begun and he is due to appear in court in Madrid on Monday. |
The arrest in Spain followed a joint operation between the Spanish police, Soca, and the north-west regional organised crime unit, Titan. | The arrest in Spain followed a joint operation between the Spanish police, Soca, and the north-west regional organised crime unit, Titan. |
The man originally accused with Moran, Stephen Devalda, also went on the run after jumping bail in 2006, but was captured in a hotel in Marbella in 2011. He was sentenced at Preston crown court to nine years and eight months for conspiracy to commit armed robbery, and seven months for breaching bail. | The man originally accused with Moran, Stephen Devalda, also went on the run after jumping bail in 2006, but was captured in a hotel in Marbella in 2011. He was sentenced at Preston crown court to nine years and eight months for conspiracy to commit armed robbery, and seven months for breaching bail. |
Matt Burton, the head of investigations at Soca, said: "Moran thought he could evade capture fleeing to Spain, frequently changing his appearance and using false identities. | |
"Like his partner in crime, Devalda and the other armed robbers on the hit-list discovered, though, there's no hiding place. Soca and its partners have the capability to pursue criminals relentlessly, track them down, and put them behind bars." | |
Images released by Soca show Moran in various locations over the years with glasses, a moustache, or hair dyed blonde. In several of the photographs he is posing with guns. The search had intensified since November, when he was tracked down in the Murcia area of Spain, but escaped from local police by ramming their cars in his 4X4, and driving off at speed the wrong way down a motorway. | Images released by Soca show Moran in various locations over the years with glasses, a moustache, or hair dyed blonde. In several of the photographs he is posing with guns. The search had intensified since November, when he was tracked down in the Murcia area of Spain, but escaped from local police by ramming their cars in his 4X4, and driving off at speed the wrong way down a motorway. |
When the police searched the house he was living in, they found a handgun, ammunition, 5kg of cannabis, and vacuum packing equipment. | |
Detective Chief Inspector Janet Hudson, from Titan, said: "My officers have worked tirelessly alongside Soca colleagues and the Spanish authorities to track down this dangerous man. Extradition proceedings are now under way. | |
"It just goes to show that we will stop at nothing to capture criminals wherever they are in the world. No matter how hard they try to evade justice they will not succeed." | |
Moran was also on the most wanted list for the Crimestoppers' Operation Captura campaign, founded and chaired by Lord Ashcroft, who boasted that it has amassed 50 arrests from 65 appeals since 2006. | Moran was also on the most wanted list for the Crimestoppers' Operation Captura campaign, founded and chaired by Lord Ashcroft, who boasted that it has amassed 50 arrests from 65 appeals since 2006. |
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