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FUGITIVE

‘Most wanted’ killer found hiding in Canaries

A convicted killer has been arrested in the Caranry Islands just days after appearing on a “most wanted” fugitives list.

Published: 23 March 2015 10:33 CET
'Most wanted' killer found hiding in Canaries
Shane Walford was arrested in Fuerteventura on Saturday. Photo: Crimestoppers

Shane Walford, 38, was tracked down to the island of Fuerteventura and was arrested there on Saturday, according to a statement by Spain’s National Police force.

The arrest marks the first success of the latest campaign by Operation Captura which last week published a list of the top ten most wanted British fugitives thought to be hiding out in Spain.

The arrest was announced on twitter by Ignacio Cosidó, the director general of Spain's National Police force.

 

 

Walford, an ex-soldier and former boxer, was convicted in 2010 of the manslaughter of an off-duty fireman in Coventry.

He was jailed for four and a half years for killing father of two Paul Gibbons with a single punch outside a bar.

But he was released on license in January 2012 when he absconded and a recall to prison was issued, said the UK’s National Crime Agency (NCA) which released the most wanted list in connection with CrimeStoppers.

He was arrested last Saturday "as he attempted to board a flight to Shannon Airport in Ireland. Walford, who was using a false identity and travelling with his girlfriend, was arrested and detained on a European Arrest Warrant (EAW) for a recall to prison for manslaughter," said a statement from the NCA

On the "most wanted" list Walford was described "as 5ft 11ins tall and has numerous tattoos including a black panther on his left arm as well as a boxing gloves tattoo on his abdomen".

"Walford’s arrest, less than a week after his details were made public as part of Operation Captura, highlights how the public play such an important role in helping us to locate and track down these fugitives," said Hank Cole, the NCA Head of International Operations, in a statement to The Local. 

"Once again, working with our partners both in the UK and overseas, we will leave no stone unturned to track fugitives who think they can evade capture, ensuring they are returned to the UK to face justice."

This is the ninth Operation Captura appeal to be made since 2006, and Walford is the 66th out of 86 wanted fugitives to be caught.

Click here to go straight to the latest gallery of the UK's Most Wanted in Spain

 

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PRISONER

Denmark makes two arrests over prisoner breakout at hospital

Police have detained two people who they suspect of having helped a prisoner escape from a psychiatric hospital earlier this week.

Published: 22 November 2019 11:25 CET
Denmark makes two arrests over prisoner breakout at hospital
Police in Slagelse after Tuesday's breakout. Photo: Pressefotos.dk/Ritzau Scanpix

The two men, aged 20 and 25, have denied helping to free prisoner Hemin Dilshad Saleh from a psychiatric ward in Slagelse on Tuesday, according to preliminary hearings Thursday at the town’s district court.

Defence lawyer Andro Vrlic representing the 20-year-old said that his client wishes to defend himself in court; the 25-year-old will not comment, his defence lawyer Susan Jørgensen said.

Both men denied charges against them before proceedings continued behind closed doors, thereby keeping the 20-year-old’s statement out of the public domain.

Earlier on Thursday, another man was remanded in custody for four weeks in absentia on the same grounds as the two arrested men. He is probably the same individual as a man arrested on Thursday by police in Hamburg, Germany, Ritzau reports.

The three men are suspected of planning the prisoner’s escape and carrying it out in coordination, according to allegations presented by the prosecution.

They are charged with participating in and assisting in the release of a prisoner, and also face a second charge for aggravated weapons and ammunition possession, and for pointing and threatening hospital staff with the guns.

Further, they are charged unlawful coercion for forcing two female employees to let them and Saleh out of a secure exit to the hospital.

Tuesday’s dramatic escape was made after two guns were smuggled into the hospital in a cake box, resulting in the escape of Saleh, 24.

Saleh is a leading figure in organized crime group NNV, which is connected to Copenhagen's Nørrebro area, according to Ritzau's reporting.

Shots were fired at the floor during the escape operation, and hospital staff were threatened.

Swedish newspaper Aftonbladet has reported that the authorities fear that Saleh may have fled to either Germany or Sweden. Swedish authorities have been asked to tighten border controls.

The names of the three defendants in the case have been suppressed.

READ ALSO: Danish police in fugitive hunt after prisoner escapes from hospital ward

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