British and Spanish police joined forces on Wednesday in the hunt for 12 of the UK’s “most wanted fugitives” who are believed to be hiding in Spain.
Launching a joint appeal in Madrid, Britain’s National Crime Agency (NCA) and the Spanish police released images of 12 men who are wanted for a string of crimes including murder, drug trafficking, serious assaults and other offences.
“Spain is not a safe haven,” said Steve Rodhouse, head of operations for the NCA, noting in a statement the “brilliant relationship” with the Spanish police whom he said had arrested and returned more than 25 wanted Britons in 2021.
The list includes Nana Oppong, a suspect in his early 40s who has links to Marbella and is wanted for the drive-by killing of a 50-year-old man in June 2020.
Another is Callum Halpin, in his late 20s, who is wanted for a murder and a second attempted murder in Manchester and believed to have ties to Alicante and Malaga.
A previous joint campaign — Operation Captura, which was launched in 2006 and ran for well over a decade — successfully netted scores of offenders, he said.
“With 86 offenders arrested in our last fugitives campaign, criminals know we will never give up and we’re never far behind them.”
In a separate statement, Rafael Perez Ruiz, a top security official at Spain’s interior ministry, said the initiative would “increase police collaboration between Spain and the UK with the aim of creating a hostile environment that would discourage criminals or criminal groups from setting up in Spain and taking residence here”.
“Operation Most Wanted” is a joint initiative run by the NCA and British charity CrimeStoppers, both of whom have released images and details of the fugitives on their respective websites.