One of the UK’s most wanted fugitives has been arrested in Spain, Crimestoppers said yesterday.
Dennis O’Brien, from Liverpool, is suspected of leading a gang which plotted to import £166 million-worth of cocaine into the UK from Peru.
The 62-year-old was found at a Costa del Sol bar on Saturday after a joint operation by the British Serious Organised Crime Agency (Soca) and Spanish police.
He is one of the fugitives featured in Operation Captura – Crimestoppers’ campaign to trace suspected British criminals who are on the run in Spain.
Police caught up with Mr O’Brien at the Trafalgar Bar, in Calahonda, a coastal town between Marbella and Fuengirola.
A spokesman said: “Dennis Patrick O’Brien was arrested on Saturday in Calahonda in the Costa del Sol.
“The arrest was part of an ongoing operation by the Spanish National Police and the UK’s Serious Organised Crime Agency targeting bars in the region which are known to be regular haunts of criminals.”
Mr O’Brien fled the country in 2005 before he could be put on trial for his alleged role in a conspiracy to supply 1.6 tonnes of cocaine.
His son James Kelly, from Garston, Liverpool, was jailed at Liverpool Crown Court for 19 years in March 2007 for his part in the same trafficking plot.
The investigation led police from Peru to England, via Rotterdam, Madrid and Amsterdam, and even saw gang members tailed to Hong Kong and Dubai.
Their plan was to hide Peruvian cocaine, grown on a farm, in tins of asparagus and peppers before storing them in giant containers and sailing them from South America to Europe, the court heard. Ken Gallagher, Soca’s European head of investigation, said: “Our partnership with Spain to target British criminals living and operating there goes from strength to strength.
“We are making life tough for them, with operations like this getting right into the areas where they live and socialise, and we will be piling on the pressure in the new year when we launch the next list of most-wanted fugitives.”
Lord Ashcroft, the founder and chairman of Crimestoppers, said the arrest was a “superb” result.
He said: “This arrest now brings the total of those wanted down to 12 out of an original 50 appeals.
“Fugitives can run, but they can’t hide forever.
“It is vital that we bring the remaining offenders still on the run to justice.”
Dirty dozen on the wanted list
Here are the remaining 12 fugitives wanted by Operation Captura:
Allan James Foster, 31, from South Shields. Wanted by Northumbria Police for the murder of David “Noddy” Rice in May 2006. Also wanted for drugs offences. He also goes by the name Shaun Michael Wilkinson and has links to the Canary Islands and Majorca.
Fatah Benlaredj, 33. Born in Algeria, he is wanted for the rape of a seven-year-old girl in Stockport, Greater Manchester, in April 2007.
Christopher Guest More, aged between 25 and 30. Wanted in connection with the murder of a man in Cheshire in June 2003 and the attempted murder of a second man. He also uses the names Christopher Guest, Chris Guest, Christopher Moores and Christopher Moore. He has links to Spain and Malta.
David Alfred Andrews, aged between 65 and 70. He is accused of being the principal figure of a drug trafficking organisation that conspired to import commercial quantities of cocaine into the United Kingdom from South America through Heathrow Airport.
Dean Lawrence Rice, aged between 45 and 50. Mr Rice was sentenced in his absence to life imprisonment for conspiracy to kidnap and false imprisonment.
John Barton, aged 50 to 55, was sentenced to 20 years imprisonment in 2003 after being convicted, in his absence, of conspiring to import a commercial amount of heroin into the UK.
Kevin Thomas Parle, 31, is wanted in connection with the murders, in Liverpool, of 16-year-old old Liam Kelly in 2004 and mother-of-three Lucy Hargreaves in 2005.
Mark Alan Lilley, aged 30 to 35. Uses the names Coney, TJ, Fatboy, Big Vern, Mandy. Lilley, from Warrington, was sentenced at Bolton Crown Court in April 2000 to 23 years imprisonment for conspiracy to supply controlled drugs and for possession of a firearm. Lilley skipped bail during the trial and was convicted in his absence.
Mark David John Gottfried, aged 50 to 55. He is wanted in connection with the supply of 5kg of class A drugs and impersonating an officer of Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs in November 2000.
Scott Coleman, 35, faces allegations of possession with intent to supply of 2.87kg of heroin.
Shahsi Dhar Sahnan, aged 50 to 55, is accused of being involved in the importation of controlled Class A drugs.
Paul Walmsley, 42, from Liverpool, has been wanted for three years for conspiracy to supply Class A drugs. He has links to Holland and Spain.