300 fugitives held during lockdown

THREE hundred of Europe’s most wanted suspects were arrested in the UK during lockdown, police chiefs have revealed.

Alleged rapists, people traffickers and child abusers hiding in Britain were targeted by the National Crime Agency (NCA) as it prioritised ‘highest harm offenders’.

Afghan national Jafar Mohammad, 40, who is thought to have funnelled payments from migrants to one of Greece’s largest people-smuggling rings, was traced to a house in Hanwell, west London. The NCA used financial checks to trace Arshid Ali Khan, 38, who was wanted in the Netherlands for alleged child sex abuse; and they arrested Romanian national Constantin Postelnicu, 28, who was wanted in Italy for alleged sexual exploitation of adults.

The NCA’s Arthur Whitehead said: ‘We’re very proud of identifying and helping to remove very dangerous offenders from the UK and returning them to face justice.’

All were wanted on European Arrest Warrants – the future of which is being determined during the Brexit negotiations. The NCA made the arrests during Operation Suricate – a three-month crackdown between April and June led by its International Crime Bureau.

British national Stephen Bullman, 60, was seized in Cumbria over a suspected 2001 sex attack in Dublin, and Assed Koluni, 43, was arrested on alleged people smuggling offences after a request from Belgian police.

Fifty-two of the 297 arrested suspects have so far been extradited.