Operacion Captura arrests another Brit on the run

A Salford man, on the run for more than a year, was arrested in Spain.

David Mather (57) was wanted with three others for smuggling heroin worth £582,000 (€704,802) into Britain from Belgium.  He fled the UK in January 2013 but received an 18-year sentence in his absence from Sheffield Crown Court.Mather owned the trailer where the drugs were found.

Operacion Captura identifies individuals on the run in Spain who are wanted by UK law

He was targeted by Crimestoppers and the National Crime Agency (formerly known as the Serious Crime Squad) campaign called Operacion Captura.

He was arrested in a joint operation when NCA officers and Spanish police swooped on Mather as he was driving in La Linea, close to the Gibraltar border.

The arrest was the outcome of close collaboration with the Spanish authorities, said Hank Cole who heads the NCA’s international operations.  Extradition proceedings have begun and Mather will be returned to the UK to serve his sentence.

National Crime Agency campaigns prove to be a success.

“Mather was using false identity documents but we were able to track him down.  This demonstrates that the NCA and its partners have the ability to pursue fugitives wherever they are in the world.”

Other successful NCA operations include the arrest of Andrew Moran in Calpe (Alicante) last May and Michael McCartney, a 78-year-old paedophile in Alicante city, in November.