British drug trafficker caught in Valencia

National Crime Agency

OPERATION CAPTURA has bagged another criminal who had thought that going incognito in Southern Spain would protect him from the law.

Robert Knight, aged 53, from Walsall was arrested on Thursday September 25 in a joint operation in which Spain’s National Police force collaborated with the National Crime Agency (NCA) and the West Midlands police force.

At around 7pm Spanish time, armed police raided a bar in the port district of Calpe, surprising Knight as he was sitting down to a game of Texas Hold’em poker.

Knight has been arrested on suspicion of conspiracy to import cocaine after a European Arrest Warrant was brought against him.

The alleged drug trafficker is the 62nd criminal on Operation Captura’s list of 76 to be tracked down.

In a statement released by the NCA, Hank Cole, Head of International Operations, said: “Knight is believed to be a member of an organised crime group involved in the importation and distribution of illegal drugs. 

“He had been on the run for a number of years but we were able to track him down. Spain is not a safe haven. The NCA and its partners will continue to pursue fugitives relentlessly.”

Crimestoppers founder and chairman, Lord Ashcroft KCMG PC, said of the incident: “Robert Knight has been at large for six years and I am delighted that the collaborative work of the agencies involved in Operation Captura has once again brought success.

“This latest capture brings the arrest rate to 82 per cent, and with just 14 individuals still to be located, I am appealing to the public to contact Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111 or 900 555 111 from Spain, with the information that will lead to them being caught. It will happen – it’s just a matter of time.”

Knight appeared in front of a judge in Madrid on Sunday September 28 in order to begin the process of his extradition to the UK.

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