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One Of UK's Most Wanted Captured In Spain

One Of UK's Most Wanted Captured In Spain

One of Britain's most wanted fugitives has been arrested in Spain in a dramatic raid while he was relaxing by a swimming pool with his girlfriend.

Armed police officers swooped on Andrew Moran at a luxury villa in the Calpe area of Alicante in a joint operation between UK and Spanish forces.

Two handguns, 60 rounds of ammunition and a machete were also recovered during the raid on Friday afternoon.

Details of the operation have just emerged. It involved officers from the Serious Organised Crime Agency (Soca), North-West Regional Organised Crime Unit (also known as Titan) and Spanish National Police.

Moran, 31, had been on the run since 2009 after he assaulted four security guards, vaulted over the dock and escaped while on trial at Burnley Crown Court.

It was for holding up a Royal Mail vehicle in a £25,000 raid in May 2005, in which a security guard was injured.

He was subsequently convicted in his absence of conspiracy to commit armed robbery.

Described by police as a "dangerous man", Moran evaded capture by fleeing to Spain and frequently changing his appearance and using false identities.

He was tracked down to the Murcia region in November 2012, but escaped from local officers by ramming two police vehicles with his 4x4 and driving off at speed the wrong way down a motorway.

During a search of the house he was living in at the time a handgun, ammunition, 5kg of cannabis, and a vacuum packing machine were recovered.

He was the last man outstanding on a law enforcement hit-list of armed robbers from Salford, Greater Manchester.

Moran was one of seven men targeted in a crackdown on organised crime in the city.

He was also on the most wanted list for Crimestoppers' Operation Captura campaign - which identifies serious criminals believed to be on the run in Spain - and his arrest means 50 fugitives have now been caught since its launch in 2006.

Stephen Devalda, 29, was also involved in the Royal Mail raid outside an Asda store in Colne, Lancashire.

He was arrested at a hotel in Marbella, Spain, in March 2011, following an operation involving Soca, Greater Manchester Police and the Spanish authorities, and was jailed at Preston Crown Court for nine years and eight months for conspiracy to commit armed robbery and seven months for breaching bail.

Detective Chief Inspector Janet Hudson from Titan, said: "My officers have worked tirelessly alongside Soca colleagues and the Spanish authorities to track down this dangerous man.

"It just goes to show that we will stop at nothing to capture criminals wherever they are in the world. No matter how hard they try to evade justice they will not succeed."

Matt Burton, head of investigations at Soca, added: "Moran thought he could evade capture fleeing to Spain, frequently changing his appearance and using false identities.

"Like his partner in crime Devalda and the other armed robbers on the hit-list discovered though, there's no hiding place. Soca and its partners have the capability to pursue criminals relentlessly, track them down, and put them behind bars."

Extradition proceedings are under way.