Joint campaign targets 12 of UK’s ‘most wanted’ in Spain

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.