British fugitive caught
Suspect is being held in jail while extradition is dealt with in Madrid
ONE of the UK’s most- wanted fugitives – a 36- year- old man from the Midlands named as Micah Walfall – has been arrested in Orihuela Costa by the Guardia Civil.
According to the Guardia Civil, who did not identify the suspect by name, he had allegedly been involved with other gang members in the kidnap and torture of an alleged drug dealer in the UK.
The Guardia Civil revealed that their investigation was launched in the summer when officers saw drugs being handed over in a nightlife area in Torrevieja. They went to stop suspects in a vehicle, who sped away and the officers gave chase as far as Orihuela Costa.
The driver endangered the lives of several pedestrians and tried to ram their car, said a spokesman for the force.
The suspects eventually crashed into a tree after driving through a children’s playground and the passenger was arrested, but the driver managed to escape. While they were trying to identify the suspect, the Guardia Civil received reports from the UK authorities that this man was extremely violent and dangerous and one of his home country’s mostwanted fugitives.
The Guardia Civil spokesman said officers watched and followed people who could have been connected with him until they located where Mr Walfall was living.
An operation was launched to catch him just before he was going to move house.
He resisted arrest and tried to escape in his vehicle, pulling out a can of pepper spray when he was unable to dodge the officers, reported the spokesman.
Eventually they managed to subdue him and arrest him on suspicion of a public health offence, reckless driving and criminal damage.
He was taken to Torrevieja courthouse, where a judge ordered him to be held in jail while his extradition is being dealt with by the High Court.
In the UK he is facing charges of conspiracy to kidnap, for which he is facing a life sentence, conspiracy to blackmail, illegal possession of weapons, and causing injuries.
The other suspects in that case pleaded guilty at Manchester Crown Court in February.
According to the Manchester Evening News trial report, Mr Walfall was said to be the ‘ heavy’ of the group and referred to by his accomplices as ‘ Big Dave’.
The victim was abducted in the street on April 11, 2019 by three men.
He was taken to an industrial unit and handcuffed to a chair, where prosecutors claimed Mr Walfall punched and slapped him, singed his arms with a blowtorch and Tasered his testicles. The kidnappers called friends and family of the victim and demanded a ransom of € 500,000.
Police traced the phone calls and armed officers stormed the building to rescue him approximately 12 hours after he had been snatched, by when all but two of the gang had gone.
While the others were tracked down by police, Mr Walfall’s whereabouts remained unknown until he was identified by the Guardia Civil.