UK Police Appeal To Expats In Spain To Help Catch 11 Wanted Criminals

Britain’s National Crime Agency is appealing to British expats in Spain for help in catching the 11 most wanted British criminals.

The appeal has been launched as the 11 are the last remaining fugitives at large after an ongoing campaign netted 84 most-wanted crooks. The list of 11 is composed of sex offenders, drug traffickers and suspected murderers, with all proven to have links to Spain one way or another. All will be using false identities and police are emphasising any information received will be fully confidential.

Included in the list are Sarah Panitzke, wanted by the UK’s HMRC for laundering over a billion pounds on behalf of a group of white-collar criminals carrying out VAT fraud. Murder suspect Allan Foster has been unable to be located since 2006, when he shot David Rice dead in South Shields. Working together with Spanish police, Crimestoppers and the British Embassy, the NCA has brought 84 fugitives to justice out of 96 cases which received publicity, with only one case being dropped.

At the same time, Spanish police are warning Britons with Spanish holiday homes empty for long periods that scammers are breaking into unoccupied houses and renting them out via internet websites, charging one year’s rent in advance. The scam was discovered by an estate manager who found damage and unexplained water and electricity bills at one of the properties, with three men swiftly arrested and charged. The three are believed to have ripped off some 80,000 euros from unsuspecting victims.