Dorset housewife on UK’S 25 most wanted list after crime agency’s identity blunder
A HOUSEWIFE is suing the UK’S crossborder crime agency after it accidentally handed over her passport photograph and details to Costa Rican intelligence officials, leading to her being listed as one of Britain’s “most wanted” criminals.
The National Crime Agency (NCA) passed on information about Adriana Barton, 41, in 2014 after a request from Costa Rica for intelligence about a Brazilian fraudster with a similar name.
Mrs Barton, from Weymouth, only became aware that she was listed as a wanted criminal in 2017, when a friend saw her photograph online. “Interpol and the NCA are supposed to protect people. It makes you worry about trusting the system,” she said. “You would think before they hand over these details ... they would double, if not triple check.”
When Mrs Barton, who has never been in trouble with the law, found out she was named by Interpol among the top 25 most wanted British criminals, she went voluntarily to her local police station.
After being interrogated, she spent hours there while officers rang authorities around the world.
Her photograph and name were reproduced by newspapers and websites across the globe, and online searches still bring up “most wanted” listings that include her details.
Mrs Barton said: “I can’t believe they could make such a mistake. They were looking for a criminal fraudster – but they issued a picture and name of a housewife in Weymouth.”
It took the NCA, which denies liability for defamation, six months to admit the mistake, and Mrs Barton is still pursuing a legal case against it.
An NCA spokesman said: “Mrs Barton’s photo was incorrectly shared with the Costa Rican authorities for intelligence purposes...
“At no point was the NCA made aware that this intelligence would be made public some time later. However, we accept that the photo was shared in error and we have apologised fully to Mrs Barton.”