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Date Published: 05/07/2022

Fugitive who tried to smuggle kids and adults into the UK is arrested in Alicante, Spain

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The lorry driver fled France after being caught with 11 people, including several children, hidden in his trailer

Fugitive who tried to smuggle kids and adults into the UK is arrested in Alicante, Spain

A Romanian lorry driver who fled France after being found guilty of attempting to smuggle Indian and Afghan adults and children to the UK by ferry has been arrested in Elche, Alicante.

A French court sentenced the 38-year-old for trafficking after 11 people, including "several" children were discovered hidden "in terrible conditions" inside the cargo trailer of his articulated lorry destined for the UK in 2017.

The driver was arrested by French port police and sentenced to jail, but he immediately absconded and had been on the run ever since.

Also read: Four in five Elche motorists clocked speeding by mobile radars

A European Arrest Warrant for Extradition (EAEO) was issued by the French authorities and the liaison office in charge of communications with the Spanish justice system in extradition matters (SIRENE Office, Supplementary Information Request at the National Entry) alerted the National Police that a person wanted for trafficking may be hiding out in or around Santa Pola and Torrevieja.

Working in collaboration with the French authorities, Elche National Police tracked the 38-year-old to a property in the town and he was arrested before being handed over the to the Central Examining Court of the National High Court which has begun extradition procedures.

The capture comes days after police in Benidorm arrested a 43-year-old Brit wanted by UK authorities over drug trafficking charges. Police in nearby Alfaz del Pi also caught up with a Dutch man, 35, who was travelling under four false indentities to avoid arrest in connection with an attempted murder.

Also read: Unconscious French hiker rescued from Alicante reservoir

Image: Policía Nacional

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