Scots machete maniac among most wanted on Costa del Crime
Dangerous thug joins rogue gallery of 10 Brits said to be hiding in Spain
A VIOLENT Scottish thug is among the ten most wanted British criminals believed to be on the run in Spain.
Jonathan Kelly, 35, from Glasgow, has spent most of his adult life in prison with a long line of convictions including paralysing a man with a machete.
While behind bars he faced nine charges of assaulting prison wardens and fellow inmates, and openly boasted about attacking gay people. He was released from Low Moss prison in August 2014 on the condition that he would meet police and social staff daily.
But a hunt was launched after Kelly failed to turn up to a scheduled appointment, then disappeared. He has not been seen for two years and it is believed the fugitive, whose father was a gangland killer, may be hiding in Spain.
Kelly is 5ft 10in, heavily built, with scars to both sides of his face.
He is fourth on a list of the most wanted men issued by British and Spanish authorities at a joint press conference in Malaga yesterday.
Police Scotland is also chasing Mark Quinn, 52, from Liverpool, for allegedly being involved in a drug dealing gang that made, smuggled and sold amphetamine with a street value of £11million. Topping the list is Jamie Acourt, 40, from London, who is a suspect in the 1993 racist murder of teenager Stephen Lawrence, and faces a string of drugs charges.
Shane O’Brien, 28, comes second and is accused of murdering 21-year-old Josh Hanson in an unprovoked knife attack in a bar in Hillingdon, west London, last year. A £20,000 reward is on offer for information leading to his arrest and prosecution.
Suspected fraudster Mark Acklom, 43, from London is also on the list. He allegedly posed as a Swiss banker and an MI6 agent as he fleeced a woman whom he said he would marry out of £850,000.
Acklom convinced her that he needed the money to renovate a property which he did not own. The alleged victim, Carolyn Woods, 55, said: ‘He left me destitute and destroyed my life.’
The only woman is former public schoolgirl Sarah Panitzke, 42, from Fulford, North Yorkshire, accused of laundering £1billion as part of a massive tax fraud, who went on the run before the end of her trial.
The ‘most wanted’ gallery also includes suspected paedophile Steven Carruthers, 43, from Bury, Greater Manchester.
He is wanted by Cumbria Police after officers found more than 5,000 obscene images of children, including some being sexually abused, on his home computer.
Matthew Sammon, 45, from London, is wanted on similar offences.
Dominic McInally, 25, from Liverpool was allegedly the boss of a
‘He destroyed my life’ ‘Accused of laundering £1bn’
cocaine business that pulled in £1.25million a month, while fellow Liverpudlians Mark Quinn, 52, and Simon McGuffie, 41, are also accused of being in drug gangs.
Steve Reynolds, Head of International Operations for the National Crime Agency, said: ‘The fugitives we are hunting are wanted for serious crimes and must be returned to the UK to face justice.
‘We need the support of the public to help us catch them.’
Crimestoppers chairman Lord Ashcroft said: ‘These people have managed to evade arrest and avoid justice. We know that with the help of Spanish authorities, along with the public in Spain and the UK, we can find these people.’