One of the UK's most wanted men has been arrested as he tried to fly on a fake passport, police said. Alex Male, 29, was arrested on Saturday (April 30) in Portugal after attempting to fly from Lisbon to Istanbul.
Male, from Weston-super-Mare, Somerset, was added to National Crime Agency's Most Wanted appeal in January after he went on the run. He is believed to have used encrypted communications platform EncroChat to distribute class A drugs across the South West.
His arrest by the South West Regional Organised Crime Unit (SW ROCU) was part of Operation Venetic, a police takedown of EncroChat. NCA said the sole use of the platform was for coordinating and planning the distribution of illicit commodities, money laundering and plotting to kill rival criminals.
Male is also accused of money laundering and conspiring to acquire a firearm as part of his drug dealing activity. He was previously on the run in the Marbella area of Spain before moving to Portugal.
He remains in custody and will now face extradition proceedings. NCA International Liaison Officer Phil Robinson said: “Male naively believed he could travel across international borders using fraudulent documentation and remain undetected by law enforcement.
“But he underestimated the vigilance and expertise of the Turkish border police, which enabled the Portuguese authorities to act. Any arrest of a fugitive is a fantastic result, even more so since Male had only recently been added to our most wanted list.
"He is wanted in connection with dangerous crimes, which have a devastating impact on communities, so I’m delighted he has been caught. We continue to work with our international partners to close the net around fugitives, no matter where they are.”
Detective Inspector Adrian Hawkins, from the SW ROCU, said: “The arrest of Alex Male brings an end to a long period of investigation taking place in the UK and across Europe. Male will now be returned to the Criminal Justice System in the UK to face the charges he ran away from.
"This is an example of international law enforcement working together to ensure justice can be done and demonstrating there is nowhere safe to hide."
Anyone with information about one of the Most Wanted is urged to call Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111. Alternatively, members of the public can fill out an anonymous online form at the UK charity’s website crimestoppers-uk.org/fugitives.
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