A man has been arrested in Portugal (Peter Byrne/PA)
(Picture: PA Archive)A man wanted over a murder in the UK in May has been held on an international arrest warrant by Portuguese police.
Detectives in Lisbon revealed on Friday they had detained a man and who had been remanded in custody ahead of his expected extradition.
Well-placed police sources in Portugal said the crime he had been linked to involved a May 1 mugging in London which ended with the death of the victim.
The arrest is the third in less than three months in Portugal of a fugitive on the run from British authorities following the detentions in late April and early May of an alleged drug trafficker and a murder suspect.
The Policia Judiciaria said in a statement: “A foreign citizen has been tracked down and detained in the Lisbon area in fulfilment of an International arrest warrant issued by the UK judicial authorities.
“The detainee is a 26-year-old man suspected of the crimes of robbery and homicide.
“The incident occurred in May this year and the man is suspected, together with two other individuals, of having robbed and killed a person in the street.
“The detainee had links to Portugal and is believed to have travelled to Portugal with his partner who is a Portuguese national.
“He was arrested the same day the international arrest warrant was logged by INTERPOL.
“He was remanded in custody after appearing before a judge in Lisbon pending the completion of extradition proceedings.”
A well-placed source added: “The incident the man was arrested over occurred on May 1 in London.
“Three individuals robbed a person of an expensive watch and the incident ended with the death of the victim.”
On April 30 one of the two other men was held at Lisbon Airport. Police said he was believed to have used encrypted communications platform EncroChat to distribute class A drugs in England before going on the run.
Two days later an alleged murderer described as one of the UK’s “most wanted men” was arrested an an address near the Algarve resort of Vilamoura.
Local reports said Callum Halpin, 27, was held as he walked his dog near his Portuguese hideaway.
A public appeal to help trace Halpin was made in January this year when the NCA and Crimestoppers launched a new Most Wanted campaign featuring 12 fugitives who were believed to be hiding in Spain.
Halpin was wanted by Greater Manchester Police for the murder of Luke Graham, 31, and the attempted murder of Anton Verigotta.
Graham, a dad-of-two, was ambushed and shot dead in a drugs turf war in broad daylight on a street in Ashton-under-Lyne as children played nearby in June 2018.
In July 2019, five men were jailed over the execution.
Halpin appeared at Manchester Crown Court in mid-May after being extradited back to the UK and was remanded in custody. His trial for Mr Graham’s murder was scheduled for October.
