Episode 8 Fugitives


Episode 8

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Transcript


LineFromTo

-Come on!

-On the run...

-Get back here!

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-..and over here.

-Hands out, now! Hands out!

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When foreign criminals flee their home countries,

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many hide out in the UK.

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-Give me your hands!

-But if they think they are safe, they are wrong.

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They know they are wanted.

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A lot of these people are waiting for that knock on the door.

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But the traffic in fugitives isn't all one way.

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Across Europe, there are hundreds of British criminals also trying to

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escape justice.

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From the sun-drenched Costas,

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where the villains seek a life of luxury...

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..to the busy streets of the Dutch capital,

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where many continue their life of crime.

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We join the crack teams hunting them down.

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When you take the risk to come to Amsterdam,

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as a criminal, there is a high chance that we get you.

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When it comes to justice, borders are no barrier.

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You are under arrest under the Extradition Act 2003.

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This is how the police take down the fugitives...

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Police officer!

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..both at home and abroad.

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If you're thinking of running, don't.

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We will find you,

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we will bring you back.

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In today's programme...

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it's double trouble for these officers as they go searching for

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two wanted men in one small Yorkshire town.

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We're going to go

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200 metres up the road and do the other one.

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But finding the fugitives won't be easy.

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Am I going to be OK to walk past that dog and go upstairs?

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In London, a helpful suspect introduces detectives to technology

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to overcome their language barrier.

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COMPUTERISED VOICE SPEAKS INDISTINCTLY

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I love this thing!

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It is going to revolutionise extradition police work, this.

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-It's fantastic.

-And let down by a false passport,

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the drug dealer on the run for over a decade,

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captured by chance in Amsterdam.

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We said, "We are in contact with the police of Liverpool," and then he

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said, "Oh, no.

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"You got me."

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When it comes to tracking down men and women fleeing from justice in

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other countries, West Yorkshire Police is one of the busiest forces

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in the business.

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Today, police officers Dave Lockwood and Tom Allen are out,

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hunting down not one but two foreign fugitives.

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It would be nice if we got him.

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The two wanted men live quite literally around the corner from

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one another.

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The first target is a Polish man called Roman Horbik,

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wanted for crimes committed a long time ago.

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So, just to summarise, Tom, two offences, first one is fraud,

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where he has done them 12 withdrawals...

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-Oh, right.

-..of cash from the bank,

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and then the second one is hiding the stolen car.

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Dave thinks the wanted man has probably forgotten all about it.

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If you committed an offence and someone came tapping at your door

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15 years later, you'd be surprised as well.

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-15 years?

-Yeah.

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2001, for fraud.

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2002 for hiding the stolen vehicle.

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If you have evaded justice from your own country and taken up occupation

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in another country, there is that little bit of nagging doubt that it

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might come to haunt me.

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You might kid yourself for a while but you will not kid the authorities

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and you will not kid a police computer record of you.

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They arrive at the address and see a car parked outside.

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Dave runs a check on the number plate.

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-His car.

-His car.

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-It is a match.

-See if he's in.

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They go up to the door to check who's home.

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One thing is certain...

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DOG BARKS

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..there's a dog inside.

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A very large dog.

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Telly is on, Dave.

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Woof.

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Hiya, love.

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-Hello.

-Hi.

-Are you OK?

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-Yeah.

-How many people is in the house?

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-Now, three.

-Who is in the house?

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My baby...

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Just children, no adults in your house?

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No. No, I'm no good speaking English,

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-but...

-It sounds really good to me.

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Yeah. But...

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There's a lady here I'm talking to,

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she says there's just her and her kids here, and her kids are ill.

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She is delaying us going into the address, so...

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Just keep containment for the minute.

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Does anybody else live here that is not here now?

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Erm... Yes, my husband only, but he work now.

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He's at work. And what is he called?

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-Roman Horbik.

-Roman.

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OK. She has said that Roman is her partner, but he's at work,

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-he's not here.

-All right.

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So she's still not wanting us in the address,

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so we'll go in and have a look.

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-OK?

-The woman confirms that the man they are after is her husband.

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She says he is not here, but Dave is not convinced.

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He wants to see for himself.

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DOG BARKS

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Just let him calm...

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Am I going to be OK to walk past that dog and go upstairs?

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But first, he'll have to get past the dog.

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Just you hold the dog there.

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-OK?

-The German Shepherd isn't too pleased to see police officers

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-in the house.

-You been bitten yet, Dave?

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No, but it is... It's a vicious dog.

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Just checking upstairs, mate,

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and then we'll get her to ring him if he's not here.

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Once he gets past the barking dog,

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Dave checks upstairs for the man they are looking for.

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What I'm doing, love, I'm just making sure there's no-one here,

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then I'll talk to you and explain what we are doing, OK?

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OK, you can watch me go around, there's no problems with that.

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No.

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Nice train set.

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There's no sign of him.

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Dave finds out the man works as a builder and is due back home

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-in a couple of hours.

-I don't know, maybe two hours.

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-Two hours' time?

-Yeah.

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OK, shall we come downstairs, back outside or into the kitchen?

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-Yeah.

-Do you want to hold that dog of yours?

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DOG BARKS

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-Tom.

-Hello.

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You can come round, it's clear.

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HE TALKS TO DOG

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Yeah, you can come and meet the dog if you want.

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He's at work. He's a builder. He's working in Huddersfield somewhere,

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and he's not due home for two hours.

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-All right.

-So she's going to ring him.

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We'll just arrange to meet him in a bit.

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The woman can't reach her husband.

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So Dave makes arrangements to come back later, when he is home.

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All right, I'll leave you my details.

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I've got my phone on me, so when Roman gets home,

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just give us a text, OK?

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You're not going to do owt silly, like ignore us, are you?

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Not ring us?

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Or Roman is going to do owt silly and panic and run away

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or anything? He's not going to do that, is he?

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-No problem.

-No problem.

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OK, I'll see you between half-seven and eight o'clock.

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Here. All right?

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All right, take care.

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But how will the fugitive, who has evaded justice for 15 years, react

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once he finds out the police are looking for him?

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This is where I struggle to always see the worst in people and presume

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they're not going to cooperate, but they've got kids here and one of

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the kids is poorly, so whether he is going to do owt silly and

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panic and run or come home for his tea,

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I guess we'll find out in two or three hours' time, won't we?

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But at least Dave and Tom haven't far to go for the next job.

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It seems that the small town of Batley is also home to another man

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on the run. This time from Hungary.

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We're going to go

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200 metres up the road and do the other one.

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Though, when they get there, it's not the warmest of receptions.

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-Hello.

-Hello.

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-What is your name, please?

-Hmm?

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What is your name?

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Back in 2003,

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police in Aberdeen were battling a growing problem with addiction.

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Suppliers from Liverpool were trafficking large quantities of

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hard drugs into the city.

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They're involved in sourcing kilo quantities of heroin

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from Liverpool, we know that they were spending tens of thousands of

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pounds on heroin and making significantly more than that selling

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it in Aberdeen.

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In February 2003,

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detectives learned that a courier from Liverpool was about to deliver

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heroin to the area.

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If they could spot him,

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they knew he would lead them to the local dealers.

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This is where we had intelligence that our subjects were going to be

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meeting with a drug courier and collecting controlled drugs,

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so we put a surveillance team in this area.

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Then one of the undercover team hoping to spot the drugs handover

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was approached by a stranger.

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At about 9:30 that morning,

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a male approached that surveillance officer and asked him if he was

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there to pick something up.

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So, obviously that focused our attention on him.

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He spoke with a Liverpool accent,

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and we thought that might be one of the people we were interested in.

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The unlucky courier who had identified himself to the undercover

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cop was Scott Coleman.

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The officer kept watching.

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Within minutes, Coleman was meeting

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a local dealer already on their radar.

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Another officer saw him getting into the passenger seat of a white

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Vauxhall Cavalier,

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which was known to us and had featured in our operation prior to that.

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The driver of that car drove Coleman to here,

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where Coleman jumped out of the car and headed back towards the

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guesthouse. Pretty innocuous for a member of the public, but to us,

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we thought that a drugs handover had occurred,

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just with intelligence and what we had seen.

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Scott Coleman may only have been a courier,

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but he had blown the whole drug dealing operation wide open.

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It was an absolute stroke of luck.

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Obviously, in these situations, when drug couriers are travelling to

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an unfamiliar city, they don't know who they are going to meet,

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so somebody hanging about in the street

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could be, for them, quite a natural person to walk up and ask are they

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the person that they are looking for, so, yeah,

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it was unusual for us, but a stroke of luck nonetheless.

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But the police's luck wouldn't last long.

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Despite being arrested, Coleman would soon be on the move again,

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and this time it would be much harder to track him down.

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In London, the extradition unit is an elite squad of

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Metropolitan Police detectives.

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Police. Can you open the door, please?

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They work round the clock,

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tracking down foreign criminals hiding here in the UK.

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We don't want criminals thinking that the UK is a safe haven for them

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to come to.

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Hello, this is the police, can you open the door, please?

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For a fortnight in January,

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five teams of officers targeted offenders across the capital in

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a series of early morning raids.

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It is a manhunt unit.

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We are looking at finding people rather than investigating the crimes.

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It was called Operation Absolute,

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relying on the latest intelligence from the UK's National Crime Agency.

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It is also about pooling resources and trying to maximise our opportunity

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to arrest as many people as we could within a short space of time.

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Its aim - to send criminals home to face justice.

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It's 5:30am and Detective Sergeant Pete Rance is out on the streets

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of east London, hunting for a fugitive.

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This morning we're looking at trying to arrest a fellow who is wanted in

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Moldova for a fraud committed in 2010.

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The man he's searching for is accused of giving false details

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while applying for a loan.

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Once it has been certified by the Secretary of State...

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And this arrest is more complicated than most.

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It is an extradition order, demanded by the Moldovan government,

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and signed off by none other than the Home Secretary.

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As Moldova is outside the European Union, it is a bureaucratic process.

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So the intention today is to go and see if this guy is at the address we

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think he lives at.

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And if he is, he'll be arrested

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on the warrant and taken into custody and before Westminster,

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so that the extradition proceedings can begin.

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If police find the man they are after,

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he faces being sent back to Moldova to stand trial.

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Police. Can you open the door?

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Pete has found the address linked to the man,

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and it looks like he is home.

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There is a warrant that has been issued for your arrest in Moldova.

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OK?

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In Moldova.

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There is a warrant for your arrest in London,

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you are wanted for fraud in Moldova.

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Do you understand?

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The vast majority of them, English isn't their first language,

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so it is a real ongoing issue for us.

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And we are dependent, in the main,

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on them being able to speak English to us,

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rather than us being able to speak with them in their language.

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The man they've arrested only speaks Romanian,

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and his wife is acting as a translator.

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Could you tell him, so he understands what's happening?

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SHE SPEAKS ROMANIAN

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He will know what is happening this afternoon.

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He'll know if he can come home here or if he has to stay in prison.

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But he will only be able to come home here,

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he must give up his passport and his identity card,

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otherwise the judge will not give him bail.

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Any passport he has, he has to give to me, OK?

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Otherwise... He has to give it to me.

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Does he have a national identity card?

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This is a passport, but does he have an ID card as well?

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This one, yeah.

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OK. Are we ready? Let's go.

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Right from the outset, when he came to the window, we...

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I recognised him immediately as the guy from the photograph that Moldova

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had supplied to us, so we knew we were going to make an arrest

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straightaway there. So it is just about executing the warrant,

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getting him out of the address and safely into our car,

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so we're now going to take him into custody.

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Pete will now transport the man to a custody suite in central London,

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but explaining that to him is difficult,

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as there is no-one to translate during the journey.

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I've had many, many cases where

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you are unable to communicate, you end up arresting someone,

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you are not sure they understand,

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apart from being able to issue them with a copy of the warrant in their

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own language.

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But the arrested man finds a solution...

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by introducing Pete to a piece of technology,

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which could make it much easier for him in the future.

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We might have to wait a little while.

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ELECTRONIC VOICE TRANSLATES

0:16:040:16:07

No problem.

0:16:070:16:08

OK.

0:16:080:16:09

It's great.

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I love this thing!

0:16:110:16:13

Back in 2003, police in Aberdeen had set up a surveillance operation.

0:16:190:16:25

Its purpose - to catch the men and women bringing large quantities of

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heroin into the city.

0:16:290:16:31

And when one courier bringing drugs from Liverpool approached an

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undercover officer by mistake,

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the police hoped he would lead them to the rest of the gang.

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His name was Scott Coleman.

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And once he had delivered a package,

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he was arrested in a pub near Aberdeen station.

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He was totally upfront with the police when he was stopped,

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quite unusually, and immediately said that he had more gear

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in his rucksack.

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Police found another kilo of heroin when they searched Coleman.

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It had been meant for another dealer.

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Unusually, Coleman was quite honest in his answers.

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He said that he had been offered £1,500 to take what he thought was

0:17:320:17:36

either cocaine or heroin from Liverpool to Aberdeen,

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and deliver to two different people.

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Coleman was charged with drugs offences,

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but was granted bail and subsequently disappeared.

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For two years, there was no sign of him, until he offended again,

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this time in Spain.

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In July 2005, he was arrested in Alicante.

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Implicated in another drugs deal that had gone wrong.

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He had obviously gone from being a drug courier to having a more senior

0:18:100:18:14

position and was actually involved in the arrangement of importation,

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so not only had we missed our opportunity,

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but he was obviously still offending,

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and offending at a higher level.

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Now it was time for the National Crime Agency,

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who track down British criminals who flee abroad, to get involved.

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Coleman came to our attention because he had been arrested in

0:18:330:18:36

Spain for some drugs offences.

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But at that point the authorities in Scotland knew

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that he was abroad, they had concrete proof that he was in Spain,

0:18:410:18:44

so they issued their own European Arrest Warrant,

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and so from that point he was wanted internationally by the UK.

0:18:460:18:50

But Coleman wasn't going to give up on his life as an international

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drugs dealer. Amazingly, the Spanish authorities also granted him bail.

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Lo and behold, he disappeared once more.

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For the next decade, he would be a fugitive,

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on the run and hiding from justice.

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When suppliers like Scott Coleman deliver drugs to dealers on the street,

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thousands of victims become addicted to the substances they sell.

0:19:260:19:30

Darren Armstrong is one person who knows only too well the impact

0:19:330:19:37

drug abuse can have.

0:19:370:19:39

Attempted suicide a couple of times.

0:19:390:19:42

I was on antidepressants and anti-psychotic drugs.

0:19:420:19:45

And when I got... I didn't have any money for drugs,

0:19:460:19:48

so when I couldn't find a way of getting any,

0:19:480:19:50

I just took all my medication and tried to end my life.

0:19:500:19:52

I've had friends that have gone blind because of using heroin,

0:19:540:19:57

they've cut it with something and it has caused them to go blind.

0:19:570:20:01

I've had friends that have died.

0:20:010:20:03

For Darren, using drugs was a way of coping with his difficult

0:20:030:20:07

start in life.

0:20:070:20:08

When he was younger, he found himself homeless and had to fend for

0:20:120:20:15

-himself on the streets.

-This is where, when I was 14,

0:20:150:20:20

this is where I used to come down when I first became homeless,

0:20:200:20:24

this is where I slept.

0:20:240:20:26

I had nowhere to go, and I wouldn't hand myself into the police because

0:20:270:20:30

I was scared of being put into care,

0:20:300:20:31

cos I always thought it was a bad thing.

0:20:310:20:34

So, to stay out in the cold, I used drugs.

0:20:340:20:37

Darren's drug use escalated, and he ended up in prison.

0:20:400:20:44

Inside, he was recruited into a drug dealing network which spanned

0:20:450:20:49

the north of England.

0:20:490:20:51

He was a minor player, funding his own habit by selling to others.

0:20:510:20:56

This is where I used to come

0:20:580:21:00

and sell drugs, sell heroin.

0:21:000:21:03

As you can see, it is a pretty wide open space, so anybody coming,

0:21:030:21:06

you could see them for quite a while, and if you have got anything

0:21:060:21:09

on you, you can just get rid of it.

0:21:090:21:11

So this is why I really chose this bit.

0:21:110:21:13

I would get a phone call from the main man, and he would say,

0:21:130:21:17

"You've got such a body coming,"

0:21:170:21:20

so then I would say, "What is he wearing?"

0:21:200:21:22

They would give me a description,

0:21:220:21:24

and then I would just jump out the bushes, take his money,

0:21:240:21:27

give him his drugs and then I would move on further down the park.

0:21:270:21:31

And that would happen every day of the week.

0:21:310:21:33

He dealt drugs in his home town of Bolton for over 12 months.

0:21:370:21:42

I got myself into a whole network of violence, deceit.

0:21:420:21:47

It was horrible.

0:21:470:21:48

The network of people that were involved...

0:21:490:21:51

There were some nasty people, do you know what I mean?

0:21:530:21:55

They will get you doing anything.

0:21:550:21:57

As long as they are gaining.

0:21:570:21:59

Darren was stuck in a cycle of violence and drug abuse,

0:22:000:22:04

but at the time he was oblivious to the pain his behaviour was causing.

0:22:040:22:08

You don't think about the devastation you are causing to families,

0:22:090:22:13

how much money you are costing the taxpayer.

0:22:130:22:15

Deaths that are caused because of heroin.

0:22:150:22:17

It is horrendous.

0:22:170:22:18

Now I deeply regret everything that I have done.

0:22:180:22:21

But then, when you are in the middle of it all, you don't really care.

0:22:210:22:24

I didn't care.

0:22:240:22:25

But at the age of 28, it all changed.

0:22:270:22:30

Darren became a Christian.

0:22:300:22:32

He stopped using drugs.

0:22:320:22:34

And in 2011, he set up an organisation to help other ex-offenders.

0:22:340:22:39

This is the Be Strong centre.

0:22:420:22:43

This is where they come to work,

0:22:430:22:45

this is where they come to learn different skills.

0:22:450:22:48

Basically, they just come here and learn how to be employable.

0:22:480:22:51

Gary Thomas started drinking at 14 and eventually became addicted to

0:22:550:23:00

heroin whilst in prison.

0:23:000:23:02

Now he is learning to repair washing machines at the centre and hoping

0:23:020:23:06

his new skill will help him stay clean.

0:23:060:23:08

When I first started doing the washing machines,

0:23:100:23:12

I was scratching all the paintwork, I was just rubbish at it,

0:23:120:23:15

and I never thought I would be able to do it, but I stuck with it.

0:23:150:23:18

And now, you know, I can do almost anything on a washing machine,

0:23:180:23:23

and that has given me a world of confidence,

0:23:230:23:25

because I know now at least, if I leave this project,

0:23:250:23:28

I can go out into the world and I've got, you know,

0:23:280:23:30

some skills that are going to...

0:23:300:23:32

They are going to help me in the future,

0:23:320:23:34

and I won't just feel like I'm worthless any more.

0:23:340:23:36

You know, I actually believe in myself for once.

0:23:360:23:39

Even though the men on the project have done things that have harmed

0:23:390:23:42

themselves and sometimes others,

0:23:420:23:45

at the charity the emphasis is on acceptance.

0:23:450:23:48

Something Darren feels very strongly about.

0:23:480:23:51

Last year, over 2,000 people died of drug overdoses in the UK.

0:23:530:23:58

Darren hopes his efforts to give dealers and users another chance

0:23:580:24:03

will go some small way to tackling the problem.

0:24:030:24:07

I am sorry to all the people that I have hurt in my past,

0:24:070:24:11

and I am, you know, I hope that I have made amends by what I'm doing

0:24:110:24:15

now, it's putting back into society,

0:24:150:24:17

helping lads to grow and become, you know,

0:24:170:24:20

leaders in their community.

0:24:200:24:22

In West Yorkshire,

0:24:300:24:31

police officers Dave Lockwood and Tom Allen had been trying to track

0:24:310:24:35

down two fugitives living a stone's throw from one another.

0:24:350:24:39

We are going to go

0:24:400:24:42

200 metres up the road and do the other one.

0:24:420:24:44

The first man they're after is wanted for offences he committed

0:24:450:24:49

in Poland 15 years ago.

0:24:490:24:51

It is not about simply the shelf life of a warrant,

0:24:530:24:55

because there is no shelf life.

0:24:550:24:57

But we feel that if a person is presenting a risk to our community,

0:24:570:25:00

and that warrant is the way for us to reduce their risk,

0:25:000:25:03

then that is what we will go for.

0:25:030:25:05

At the man's house, they find his car, his wife

0:25:080:25:12

and his dog,

0:25:120:25:14

but the man himself is out at work.

0:25:140:25:17

They are hoping he will return in a few hours.

0:25:170:25:20

Whether he's going to do owt silly and panic and run or come home for

0:25:200:25:23

his tea, I guess we'll find out in two or three hours' time, won't we?

0:25:230:25:26

Meanwhile, they make the very short journey to the home of the other

0:25:280:25:31

criminal they are looking for.

0:25:310:25:33

This man is Hungarian,

0:25:350:25:37

and back home he has been convicted of a series of burglaries carried

0:25:370:25:41

out between 2010 and 2012.

0:25:410:25:43

At the house, Dave covers the back exit while Tom knocks on

0:25:460:25:50

the front door.

0:25:500:25:51

DOG BARKS

0:25:510:25:53

Another dog for you, Dave.

0:25:530:25:54

You can deal with this one.

0:25:540:25:56

Sounds soft compared to mine.

0:25:560:25:58

The door is answered, but this resident doesn't have much to say.

0:25:580:26:02

-What is your name, please?

-Hmm?

0:26:020:26:04

What is your name? Dave, we've got a houseful here.

0:26:040:26:07

Do you know anybody called Tibor?

0:26:070:26:09

-Tibor?

-Yeah.

-Tibor?

-No.

0:26:090:26:12

No. Right.

0:26:120:26:13

Is it all right if I just come in and speak to you, yeah?

0:26:130:26:17

We are making some enquiries.

0:26:170:26:19

Tom and Dave make their way inside to find out more.

0:26:190:26:23

Do you know anybody by that name?

0:26:230:26:24

Don't know.

0:26:240:26:26

Could you ask your mum if she knows him?

0:26:260:26:28

THEY SPEAK OWN LANGUAGE

0:26:280:26:32

-Hello.

-Hello.

-What is your name, please?

0:26:340:26:37

My name is David Paksy.

0:26:370:26:39

-David?

-Yes.

0:26:390:26:41

Right. Is that you?

0:26:410:26:42

The man at the kitchen table looks familiar.

0:26:420:26:45

Dave. It is this lad in the kitchen here.

0:26:450:26:48

It's him.

0:26:480:26:49

Tibor Paksy. They've got their man.

0:26:490:26:51

So you are under arrest.

0:26:510:26:52

-Why?

-Because, in Hungary, you are suspected of committing burglary,

0:26:520:26:57

all right? You don't have to say anything,

0:26:570:26:59

but anything you do say may be given in evidence. Do you understand?

0:26:590:27:02

As Dave and Tom explain to the fugitive that he has ten months left

0:27:020:27:06

to serve in a Hungarian prison,

0:27:060:27:09

the family begins to understand the seriousness of the situation.

0:27:090:27:13

SHE SOBS

0:27:130:27:17

We're all human, and I think there's a psychology there that the further

0:27:200:27:24

away you are from a problem, in distance and time,

0:27:240:27:28

the less of a problem that seems to be.

0:27:280:27:31

And of course you look forward, you move on, and you look back less,

0:27:310:27:35

so I think the longer between the offence and the arrest,

0:27:350:27:40

the bigger the shock.

0:27:400:27:41

OK. Cheers.

0:27:430:27:46

Dave and Tom don't waste any time getting this man into custody.

0:27:460:27:50

And then, on their way back to the police station,

0:27:530:27:56

Dave gets an unexpected phone call.

0:27:560:27:58

It is the first man they were looking for earlier in the day.

0:27:590:28:02

Are you at home now, are you?

0:28:030:28:05

Oh, right, well, I tell you what, I know you've just got home from work,

0:28:050:28:09

why don't you grab yourself some tea,

0:28:090:28:11

and I'll come and see you in the next hour, hour and a half,

0:28:110:28:13

and come and have a chat with you?

0:28:130:28:15

-Is that OK?

-It's OK.

0:28:150:28:17

Thanks for ringing me. I'll come and see you soon.

0:28:170:28:19

-OK, thank you.

-Cheers. Thank you, bye-bye.

0:28:190:28:22

Days like this make up for the long days when you are really struggling,

0:28:220:28:25

when you go to address after address and you don't get anything,

0:28:250:28:28

so it just shows, even after seven years of doing this, you just...

0:28:280:28:32

You just don't know how it is going to play out.

0:28:320:28:34

Once they have the Hungarian burglar in custody,

0:28:360:28:40

they head back out to arrest the man who called Dave earlier.

0:28:400:28:44

I have no doubt he has not a clue what this is about,

0:28:440:28:47

so we're going to go in there,

0:28:470:28:48

hope his kids are in bed so they don't have to witness this,

0:28:480:28:51

and we will talk him through it.

0:28:510:28:52

DOG BARKS

0:28:590:29:01

There is a warrant that has been issued for your arrest in Moldova.

0:29:010:29:05

It is six o'clock on a January morning.

0:29:050:29:08

DS Pete Rance from the Metropolitan Police's extradition unit has just

0:29:080:29:13

arrested a man who is wanted for fraud in Moldova.

0:29:130:29:16

The extradition process is more complicated than usual,

0:29:180:29:21

because the wanted man has been accused of committing a crime in

0:29:210:29:25

a country outside the borders of the European Union.

0:29:250:29:28

The Home Office receives a formal request for someone's extradition,

0:29:300:29:33

it then gets sent to the court for a judge to consider whether to issue

0:29:330:29:37

a warrant or not, and if the judge sees fit to issue the warrant,

0:29:370:29:40

it then gets sent to the extradition unit to execute that warrant.

0:29:400:29:43

This arrest has been a journey of discovery for Pete.

0:29:450:29:49

The man he has brought into custody speaks no English,

0:29:490:29:52

and Pete speaks no Romanian.

0:29:520:29:54

But despite this, they have been chatting in the car.

0:29:540:29:58

On the way here, the man he is bringing into custody has shown Pete

0:29:590:30:03

how to use a translation app on his phone.

0:30:030:30:06

We might have to wait a little while.

0:30:080:30:10

ELECTRONIC VOICE TRANSLATES

0:30:100:30:15

No problem.

0:30:150:30:16

OK.

0:30:160:30:18

It's great. I love this thing!

0:30:180:30:20

It is going to revolutionise extradition police work, this.

0:30:210:30:26

It's fantastic.

0:30:260:30:27

Thank you.

0:30:300:30:31

He was very concerned about the whole process, very stressed

0:30:310:30:35

that he had been arrested, and he had numerous questions.

0:30:350:30:41

He couldn't

0:30:410:30:43

communicate with me in English, obviously I don't speak any...

0:30:430:30:46

any Russian or Moldovan,

0:30:460:30:49

so he used the app on his phone to communicate with me,

0:30:490:30:53

and it was very, very useful. I had never seen it before, so I'm not...

0:30:530:30:56

I'm a bit of a technophobe, unfortunately, but he was...

0:30:560:30:59

We were able to have quite an in-depth conversation using this app.

0:30:590:31:03

This smartphone app can translate between more than 50 languages.

0:31:050:31:10

And it is making the process of checking into custody much

0:31:100:31:13

less stressful than usual.

0:31:130:31:15

ELECTRONIC VOICE TRANSLATES

0:31:160:31:20

All the legal documents are still provided in the arrested man's own language,

0:31:260:31:31

and he will also have access to the official language line translator,

0:31:310:31:36

but technology has definitely made conversation much easier.

0:31:360:31:40

You can allay a lot of their fears rather than arrest someone

0:31:400:31:44

on a warrant where all they've got is what is written on the warrant in

0:31:440:31:48

their own language. We're able to actually tell them,

0:31:480:31:51

this is going to take most of the day, or, you know,

0:31:510:31:54

they can warn their work colleagues that they are not going to be at

0:31:540:31:56

work that day, they can let their wife...

0:31:560:31:59

Their wife or their partner know that they are...

0:31:590:32:01

They are not going to be around for the day and arrange childcare,

0:32:010:32:04

things like that, which would otherwise be impossible to arrange,

0:32:040:32:08

can be arranged just by use of that simple app, so it was really useful.

0:32:080:32:11

We'll do the fingerprints.

0:32:110:32:12

I'll get a DNA bag and get you to swipe that.

0:32:120:32:15

All that remains is for fingerprints and DNA to be recorded,

0:32:170:32:21

and the arrested man will very soon be on his way to court.

0:32:210:32:25

And, thanks to the translation app, all before breakfast.

0:32:250:32:29

Yeah, it's a wonderful thing.

0:32:290:32:31

He has enlightened me this morning.

0:32:320:32:35

He used it to ask me some questions,

0:32:350:32:37

because he was concerned about the fact that he had been arrested,

0:32:370:32:39

concerned about what was going to happen to him,

0:32:390:32:42

so we've been able to reassure him in the car that the judge will

0:32:420:32:45

consider the request and he can make his representations through his

0:32:450:32:49

lawyer when he gets to court.

0:32:490:32:51

But all of those things we've been able to articulate and speak with

0:32:510:32:54

him about through the...

0:32:540:32:57

through the translating app that he had on his phone,

0:32:570:33:01

so it may be that we've...

0:33:010:33:03

we've hit on something today.

0:33:030:33:05

We'll find out.

0:33:060:33:08

Once his identity has been confirmed,

0:33:080:33:10

the man is taken to Westminster Magistrates' Court.

0:33:100:33:14

There, more traditional human translators are on hand to assist,

0:33:140:33:18

as the judge examines the Moldovan government's request to

0:33:180:33:22

have him extradited.

0:33:220:33:23

Back in 2003,

0:33:290:33:31

drug courier Scott Coleman was arrested transporting heroin

0:33:310:33:34

from Liverpool to Aberdeen.

0:33:340:33:37

But he evaded justice, fleeing from Scotland whilst on bail.

0:33:380:33:43

In 2005, he was arrested again for drug offences in Spain.

0:33:430:33:47

And again he went on the run.

0:33:480:33:50

This time staying under the radar for a long time.

0:33:500:33:53

There's a number of ways in which people can hide themselves.

0:33:560:34:00

They can hide themselves through fellow criminal enterprises, so,

0:34:000:34:04

you know, they've

0:34:040:34:06

been given accommodation,

0:34:060:34:07

given cover and support by criminal organisations.

0:34:070:34:11

Or they can go further afield.

0:34:110:34:12

It would be a decade before the Liverpudlian drug courier would

0:34:140:34:17

resurface again. This time in Amsterdam.

0:34:170:34:20

For many years, serious crime officers in the city have worked

0:34:220:34:26

closely with their counterparts on Merseyside.

0:34:260:34:28

When you are wanted, we have good cooperation with the UK

0:34:280:34:33

we have focused intelligence, and every chance we get to get people,

0:34:330:34:41

we take.

0:34:410:34:42

In 2015,

0:34:440:34:45

a group of officers patrolling Gershwin Square in the business

0:34:450:34:49

district of Amsterdam stopped a group of men

0:34:490:34:51

who were acting suspiciously.

0:34:510:34:53

Colleagues saw that a known Dutch criminal

0:34:540:34:58

was talking to somebody else,

0:34:580:34:59

on a corner, and they just went to check, "Hey, what is going on?"

0:34:590:35:05

So that was the trigger.

0:35:060:35:09

Steven van Dokkum was one of the officers who spotted the group.

0:35:090:35:14

We decided to stop them and we

0:35:140:35:16

wanted to see their passports and what they were doing here.

0:35:160:35:19

We asked them if they know each other.

0:35:190:35:22

They said no, but we had seen them talking to each other.

0:35:220:35:26

So we started asking them some questions

0:35:260:35:28

about what they were doing here,

0:35:280:35:30

and we checked our police systems to see if they were...

0:35:300:35:34

..if something comes up.

0:35:350:35:37

Scott Coleman was using a false Irish passport,

0:35:390:35:42

something many fugitives rely on,

0:35:420:35:45

and he was now going by the name Wheeler.

0:35:450:35:47

He obviously felt that his identity, his false passport,

0:35:490:35:53

he felt that that stood up to the test,

0:35:530:35:55

it had been tested enough times that he could come back

0:35:550:35:57

to the Netherlands and continue offending.

0:35:570:35:59

Immediately the Dutch were suspicious because he couldn't provide certain

0:35:590:36:04

details that tallied up with the passport,

0:36:040:36:07

he didn't really know that much information about it,

0:36:070:36:09

so they obviously wanted to dig...

0:36:090:36:11

dig further.

0:36:110:36:12

Officers questioned Coleman about his supposed life back in Ireland.

0:36:140:36:18

Can I phone your father?

0:36:190:36:20

Can I phone your mother?

0:36:200:36:22

Can I phone your school, where you were in school a couple of years ago?

0:36:220:36:26

He said, "No, no, no. No, that is not possible."

0:36:260:36:29

So he did not give any information to check.

0:36:290:36:34

The authorities were soon able to confirm that the passport was false.

0:36:350:36:40

Because of the international cooperation agreements that

0:36:400:36:43

countries have, particularly in Europe,

0:36:430:36:45

the Dutch were very quickly able to come here to us, to the Irish as well,

0:36:450:36:49

in this case, and asked for some more details around the passport,

0:36:490:36:52

which quickly pointed out to them that it was fake, you know, it wasn't...

0:36:520:36:55

It wasn't him. He wasn't Mr Wheeler, he was someone else.

0:36:550:36:59

One big giveaway,

0:36:590:37:01

the Mr Wheeler described on the passport was a considerably shorter man.

0:37:010:37:05

It should be 175.

0:37:060:37:08

But he was taller than me, and I am 187.

0:37:080:37:11

So that was very strange.

0:37:110:37:12

Coleman was arrested on suspicion of carrying a false passport.

0:37:140:37:18

But then the Dutch discovered they had arrested a drug dealer,

0:37:180:37:22

wanted in the UK and Spain.

0:37:220:37:24

We took his fingerprints and

0:37:260:37:29

we sent them all over Europe, then we got identification from Spain.

0:37:290:37:34

It was time for the Dutch police to reveal they knew who he was.

0:37:350:37:39

He asked us, "How long will it take?

0:37:400:37:42

"Because I have to go, I have important things to do, I'd like to go.

0:37:420:37:46

"How long will it take?" And then we said,

0:37:460:37:48

"Yes, we are in contact with the police of Liverpool, Merseyside Police.

0:37:480:37:53

"Depending how quick they are."

0:37:530:37:55

And then he said, "Oh, no.

0:37:550:37:57

"You got me."

0:37:570:37:58

Coleman had been on the run since 2003.

0:38:000:38:04

It was finally time to send him home to face justice.

0:38:040:38:07

It was really satisfying, it was...

0:38:090:38:13

Especially when we heard

0:38:130:38:15

he wasn't the guy he said he was.

0:38:150:38:18

It was a real... A great feeling.

0:38:200:38:22

A lot about policing is to do with luck.

0:38:220:38:25

We only need that piece of luck on one occasion to actually get what we

0:38:250:38:29

are looking for. And, you know, Coleman fell foul of that in Aberdeen,

0:38:290:38:32

and again in Amsterdam.

0:38:320:38:34

There is only so long that you can...

0:38:340:38:36

you can run from the police, that you can try and hide out.

0:38:360:38:39

Ultimately, you know, the authorities will always catch up with you.

0:38:390:38:44

In West Yorkshire,

0:38:540:38:55

police officers Dave Lockwood and Tom Allen are having a good day.

0:38:550:38:59

You don't have to say anything, but anything you do say may be given in

0:38:590:39:02

evidence. Do you understand?

0:39:020:39:04

Earlier, they arrested this man wanted in Hungary for three burglaries.

0:39:040:39:07

And then, on the way back to the police station,

0:39:100:39:13

Dave gets a call from the other man they've been looking for.

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Roman Horbik is a convicted fraudster with a prison sentence

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waiting for him in Poland.

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Are you at home now, are you?

0:39:260:39:27

Yes, yes.

0:39:270:39:28

All right, well, I tell you what,

0:39:280:39:30

why don't you grab yourself some tea and I'll come and see you

0:39:300:39:32

in the next hour, hour and a half, and I'll come and have a chat with you?

0:39:320:39:36

Now they are on their way to arrest him for crimes he committed in Poland 15 years ago.

0:39:400:39:45

-Hi, Roman. Hi.

-DOG BARKS

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Are we OK to come in? Thank you.

0:39:480:39:50

Are your children...? Children gone to bed?

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-Yes.

-Yeah. Shut the door so we can't hear the dog.

0:39:530:39:55

-Thank you for ringing me.

-Yeah.

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Do you speak really good English?

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Not really good, but OK.

0:40:010:40:02

-If I talk slow...

-Yes.

-Right.

0:40:020:40:04

Thanks for ringing me. We've come back.

0:40:040:40:06

Obviously you didn't know, because I didn't explain properly,

0:40:060:40:08

why we are here.

0:40:080:40:10

There is no other way of saying this.

0:40:110:40:13

It is bad news, I'm afraid.

0:40:130:40:14

There is a problem in Poland.

0:40:140:40:16

Right. There's two offences the Polish have issued a warrant for

0:40:160:40:20

your arrest for.

0:40:200:40:22

That is an offence of fraud and an offence of handling a stolen vehicle.

0:40:220:40:28

Did you know something about this?

0:40:280:40:30

Is it come as a shock or...

0:40:300:40:31

did you expect it?

0:40:310:40:33

No, I did not expect.

0:40:330:40:34

Just as Dave thought,

0:40:340:40:36

the wanted man clearly hasn't a clue why the police are here.

0:40:360:40:40

Basically, they've said, in 2001, I know it was a long time ago,

0:40:400:40:43

15 years ago, they are saying you've withdrawn loads of money from

0:40:430:40:46

the bank and not paid the money back.

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-Yes, yes.

-You know something about that?

0:40:480:40:50

-Right.

-Finally,

0:40:500:40:52

it seems the wanted man remembers what it is he has to answer for.

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So I am arresting you on a European Arrest Warrant for an offence

0:40:560:40:59

of fraud and handling stolen goods. So you do not have to say anything,

0:40:590:41:02

but anything you do say may be given in evidence, OK?

0:41:020:41:04

Yes. I hope I come back tomorrow.

0:41:040:41:07

As long as you can satisfy your bail conditions,

0:41:070:41:09

I don't think you'll have a problem.

0:41:090:41:11

OK?

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He went up and gave all his kids a hug and a kiss,

0:41:170:41:20

and spoke to his missus a little bit in private.

0:41:200:41:23

You know, there is no need for us to stop that.

0:41:230:41:24

We've got what we need.

0:41:240:41:25

If that keeps him a bit calmer while he is with us, then so be it.

0:41:270:41:31

Horbik is taken into custody, where he will join Tibor Paksy,

0:41:320:41:36

the Hungarian burglar Dave and Tom arrested earlier in the day.

0:41:360:41:40

Sergeant, this is Roman Horbik,

0:41:410:41:44

he has been arrested by myself at 8:40pm this evening.

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Tomorrow morning, both Horbik and Paksy will be taken to London to

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appear before a judge at an extradition hearing in Westminster Magistrates' Court.

0:41:530:41:58

OK, Roman. There is a blanket on there for you.

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And there is a buzzer on the wall, just there.

0:42:020:42:05

That goes through to the front desk, so if you don't feel well or you need anything,

0:42:050:42:08

water or anything like that, push the button, let us know,

0:42:080:42:11

all right? OK?

0:42:110:42:13

These... Both of them, 200 metres apart, both addresses.

0:42:150:42:18

Totally unconnected, different people.

0:42:180:42:20

We went for two and got two.

0:42:200:42:22

Roman Horbik is appealing against his extradition to Poland,

0:42:250:42:29

where there is a prison sentence for fraud waiting for him.

0:42:290:42:32

Persistent burglar Tibor Paksy has been sent back to Hungary to serve

0:42:340:42:38

the remaining time on his sentences.

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A judge decided to refuse the Moldovan government's request

0:42:440:42:47

to extradite the man who was arrested by the Metropolitan Police for fraud.

0:42:470:42:51

In November 2015, drug runner Scott Coleman

0:42:530:42:57

was extradited back to the UK.

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He was sentenced to five years behind bars.

0:42:590:43:02

And when that is done,

0:43:020:43:04

he will have to serve another three years in a Spanish prison.

0:43:040:43:08

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