Episode 2 Fugitives


Episode 2

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Transcript


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EXPLOSION

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-Come on!

-On the run...

-Get back here!

-..and over here.

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Hands out now. Hands out!

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When foreign criminals flee their home countries, many hide out in the UK.

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-Give me your hands.

-But if they think they're safe, they're wrong.

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They know they're 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

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also trying to escape justice.

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From the sun-drenched costas to the busy streets of the Dutch capital

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

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-You're under arrest under the Extradition Act.

-Police officer!

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..both at home and abroad.

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On today's programme...

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..Dutch police hunt British criminals

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who think they've got away with it.

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The message is don't come over here

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because you're not safe here as well.

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In Leeds, there's no place to hide for a large-scale drug dealer

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who should be in a Polish prison.

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She brought that about, not West Yorkshire Police.

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She brought that about.

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Hi, it's police. Could you let us in?

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And in Hereford,

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a major operation to find the men and women living life on the run.

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We're going to take them away from their family,

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we're going to send them back to a place where they've left

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that they don't want to be.

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Across Europe, fugitives are on the run.

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For many Brits the destination is Amsterdam.

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In February 2011, a Dutch SWAT team were preparing to raid a house

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in the village of Kortenhoef, just outside the capital,

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where a British fugitive was hiding out.

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We got the information that he was here in the neighbourhood,

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that he was very violent, and maybe armed.

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EXPLOSION, GLASS SHATTERS

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The wanted man was Sean Devalda.

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Detective Chief Inspector Aaron Duggan from Greater Manchester Police

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had been hunting for him since 2007.

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Back then the detectives were tracking a gang of armed robbers

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from Salford, planning to hijack a cash delivery van.

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They would steal motor vehicles from people's houses during burglaries.

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The cars are then put on false plates and are used

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in the commission of armed robberies.

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We were behind this team and we were aware of what they were up to.

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Sean Devalda formed part of this armed robbery team

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with three others.

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In early 2007, surveillance officers were watching as members of the gang

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driving cars they'd stolen met up in a lay-by.

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What we observed during the course of the investigation was the stolen

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vehicles being parked up here on false plates

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doing dry runs down into Salford

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where the cash depot is and what we actually observed

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was one of the stolen vehicles from here actually drive,

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peel off behind a cash-in-transit vehicle,

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enter the M60 here at junction 19.

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The surveillance helped officers

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work out where and when the thieves would strike.

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It also led them to one of the gang's main players.

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Sean Devalda came into the investigation late in the day.

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We only identified who he was reasonably late on.

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But we were satisfied that he was part of the team that were looking at committing commercial robberies.

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Within weeks the gang swung into action.

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But the police too were ready and waiting to catch them in the act.

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Sean Devalda, on the day in question, was in a stolen vehicle,

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a stolen car that was on false plates,

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and we were surveilling that vehicle.

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So, we were aware of who was in the vehicle.

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We had measures in place, should they commit a crime,

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that we could intervene, or prevent it from happening in the first place.

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As detectives tailed Devalda and his three accomplices,

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they seemed to panic.

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They abandoned their mission,

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speeding off into the back streets of Salford.

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For whatever reason they decided to abort on the day in question

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and two items were discarded from the vehicle.

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In their panic the men made a crucial mistake.

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A mask and a gun were hurled from the car.

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There just happened to be a nine millimetre weapon that was loaded

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with seven live bullets and a balaclava.

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And obviously evidence was present on the items that linked Sean Devalda to that vehicle.

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His DNA was in it, basically.

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So we were able to put him to that item.

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Three of the gang were arrested but Devalda was more elusive.

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The armed robber had already fled from the UK.

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Now he was living the high life in the Spanish sunshine.

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He was well supported financially.

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He was living in decent accommodation.

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He was attending big pool parties

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that cost an awful lot of money to get in.

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But he was with a number of close friends and associates of his

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that were looking after him.

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It was time for the National Crime Agency to get involved.

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We tried to build up a picture to see who he would be communicating with,

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or he would be frequently visiting, who would be coming visiting him...

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Trying to get a good clear understanding of where Sean was

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and how best we could capture him.

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Police across Europe were asked to join in the manhunt.

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It took three years before detectives in Manchester heard that Devalda had been spotted.

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But by then he'd left Spain for Amsterdam, using false documents to conceal his identity.

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Whilst on the run, Devalda was able to obtain a number of false

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identities that allowed him basically to travel from Spain to Amsterdam

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without being apprehended by the authorities.

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But Devalda didn't stay long in the city.

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His phone records soon revealed his country hideout.

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They knew that he was in a rural part of the Netherlands

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surrounded by water, little inlets, fenced-off community,

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so it was quite clear that they'd got a good lock on him.

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Now it was down to the Dutch police.

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We have methods to get somebody by surprise.

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Was the fugitive's run of good luck about to come to an end?

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EXPLOSION

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West Yorkshire, with its population of over two million people,

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has one of the busiest extradition units in the UK.

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Other than the Metropolitan Police with quite a sizeable team,

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we in West Yorkshire have executed more European Arrest Warrants

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than any other force in the country.

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That's done on purpose to protect our communities.

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On the front line, it's PC Dave Lockwood and his partner PC Tom Allen's job

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to hunt down foreign nationals wanted for committing crimes back in their native countries.

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Tonight they have two urgent cases.

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The first is a violent man who's been on the run for three years.

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He is now thought to be hiding out in one of the UK's biggest cities.

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We are going to Leeds and we are looking for a Polish male,

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Przemyslaw Milewski, and he's wanted for a robbery.

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Reading through it, the robbery, he's kicked him all over the body,

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used force, and hit him in order to get his mobile phone.

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He's used threats to kill the victim and then he's actually kidnapped the

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victim and thrown him in the boot of a Skoda Octavia and taken him to an

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unknown location and terrorised him further.

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He's then stolen his identity card,

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and committed a fraud by, I think, obtaining money.

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This house is the last known address for the man they're after.

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KNOCKING ON DOOR

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Contact.

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-Female's coming down.

-Cool.

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But the woman who answers the door claims not to know him.

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We're here because we're looking for a gentleman who we believed was

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resident at one of these two flats.

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Do you know anybody by the name of...

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..Przemyslaw Milewski?

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-No.

-Are we OK just to come up and have a look?

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Is that OK?

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We need to speak to this gentleman, that's all, so...

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Rather than taking her at her word, the officers go inside

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to search the premises.

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She's never heard of this gentleman, she's lived here for three years.

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Looks honest, looks like she's telling the truth

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but the connection is that she's Polish.

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Obviously the male we want is Polish.

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People do sometimes...

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..lie and not tell us the truth.

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So rather than just talking on the doorstep, since we're here,

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with her permission, we're just going to have a look and make sure there's no belongings for a male.

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The trail that led them to this address seems to have gone cold.

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I think for now we're pretty much stuck on this one, aren't we?

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We've got intelligence linking him here one month ago.

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We know for a fact he definitely lived here in 2011.

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But there's intelligence showing him as being here a month ago.

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-Move on to the next one?

-Yeah.

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Thank you very much. I see your keys here.

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Are you coming down to let us out?

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Thank you very much, love.

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The officers will never give up.

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Once there's new intelligence, the search for the man linked to this

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address a month ago will start again.

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And with around 1,500 European criminals fleeing to the UK each year,

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there are plenty more to go after.

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The officers' next warrant is for a serious drug dealer from Poland.

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She's been part of an organised crime group producing and trafficking

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amphet and cannabis throughout Poland.

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The sort of numbers we're talking about here is 6,000g of pure amphet.

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So, a good level.

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Later, intelligence suggests

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this may be the Leeds home of the Polish drug dealer

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wanted for selling amphetamines with a street value

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of tens of thousands of pounds.

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It's the police. Can you open the door, please?

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There's a little girl. She's about three.

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But could this woman really be the ruthless drug dealer Dave and Tom are looking for?

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Twice a year, roads police across the UK run a special operation

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tracking down foreign criminals using the British road network.

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Are you both known to the police at all?

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No?

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It's run from a hub in Birmingham

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linking up with 12 European forces in the never-ending search

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for the 18,000 criminals who go on the run in Europe every year.

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In Herefordshire, traffic cops Karl Lacey and Danny Evans

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have a list of fugitives wanted abroad they need to track down.

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We're in possession of a European Arrest Warrant for a male

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who is wanted for burglary in Lithuania.

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It's our intention to go to the address and make some enquiries.

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Hopefully if he's there we can arrest him.

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On arrival, the team of officers fan out to surround the property.

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They know they're trying to catch a serious offender,

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Vilius Slyzauskas, who is on the run to escape a six-year jail sentence.

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This man was wanted.

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He'd been convicted of burglary offences of a six-year imprisonment

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and he was currently outstanding and absconded from them.

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-Is it a flat number?

-Four.

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Uh, flat two.

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We've attended the address.

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Do the... Do their...

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We've tried to put a cordon on the area to prevent him from escaping from the property.

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To get past the security door, Danny employs a trick of the trade.

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It's a communal flats.

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We've pressed the intercom,

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I've covered up the camera so he didn't see

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who was on the other side of the door and he's just opened the door.

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-'Yes?'

-Hi, it's police, could you let us in?

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-Hello.

-Hi.

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-Hello.

-Hello, how are you?

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-All right?

-All right. Are you flat number two, are you, sir?

-Sorry?

-Flat number two?

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-Yeah.

-Um...

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That's you.

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Slyzauskas has been at large for over a year and a half.

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Have you got your passport?

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-Vilius?

-Yeah.

-You're Vilius, yeah?

-Yeah.

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OK, we've got him, Sarge.

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There's an element of it's always going to catch up with him at some point

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but mid-morning on a rainy day

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I don't think he expected the police to be knocking his door and taking him away.

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You're under arrest under the Extradition Act 2003.

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You do not have to say anything.

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Anything that you do say may be given in evidence.

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Just pop your arms out like that for me.

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I need to get your passport, OK?

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-It's in the car.

-OK.

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Just wait there. Wait, wait, wait, wait, wait.

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Why don't take car keys?

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-Your car keys are in the flat, yeah?

-Yeah.

-OK, come in there.

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Inside is Slyzauskas's shocked childminder and his young daughter.

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Hello, madam, are you all right?

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Do you speak English OK?

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No. No. No English, OK.

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Slyzauskas is getting increasingly agitated.

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BLEEP.

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Have we got his keys?

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I just need your passport.

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He may have come across a little bit aggressive.

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I don't think that was the case.

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I just think he was just upset and he realised he'd been caught.

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He might have been a bit upset with himself which isn't nice for him to

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show that in front of his daughter.

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Obviously we're going to take them away from their family.

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We're going to send them back to a place where

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they've left, that they don't want to be.

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So it's understandable in some respects that they're going to get upset about it.

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You be happy?

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It's my family here.

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Yeah.

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Right, first of all, calm.

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-Yeah, yeah.

-Be calm, OK?

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-OK, OK.

-If you're not calm, OK...

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Just coming out with one now.

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Stand by.

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-Just calm yourself down.

-OK, OK.

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If you've committed a crime and you've been sentenced or you're due to be in court for that crime,

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you've got to take responsibility for it and go.

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You understand that it's a European Arrest Warrant from Lithuania, OK?

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That's why you've been arrested, OK?

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-You understand that.

-OK.

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The wanted man is taken to Hereford custody suite.

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Upon arresting him he was a little bit upset.

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Quite agitated, to be fair to him.

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Why we wanted to handcuff him quite quickly just to get control of him.

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To be fair, he's calmed down now he's got into the custody block.

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But we'll see how we get on putting him in.

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He knows what's going on. He is going to need an interpreter.

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-Yeah.

-But he understands the principle of what's happened.

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It's a European Arrest Warrant.

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It's ultimately for two counts of theft from dwelling.

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Vilius Slyzauskas will soon be taken to London to appear in a Westminster

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extradition court.

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For Karl and Danny, another European Arrest Warrant has been successfully served.

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We're not here to make any mistakes, you know?

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We've got a duty to the people that this guy's burgled to make sure that

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he's brought to justice.

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Back in 2011,

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police in Amsterdam were on the hunt for a dangerous fugitive.

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Armed robber Sean Devalda had gone on the run four years earlier

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after a robbery on a cash transit van was foiled by police in Salford.

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Jeroen Poelert and his crack team of detectives were determined that this

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fugitive would be tracked down.

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We got the information that he was here in the neighbourhood,

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he should be. That he was very violent and maybe armed.

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So that...

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That worries us.

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So we put extra effort on this case and we start an

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investigation, so a whole team is focusing to get the person.

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Inspector Remco van Huys was in charge of the hunt.

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He discovered Devalda was using a mobile phone in a rural area 20 miles from Amsterdam.

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We were able to trace down in this area,

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this is Kortenhoef in Holland,

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it's not a very busy area so we had a bit of a problem...

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..to locate him.

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But we knew that his telephone was somewhere around here.

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To find somebody...

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..when you look back it's always easy

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but when you begin, you have nothing.

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You have only a name and the information from abroad.

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Yes, we think he is in your neighbourhood.

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And you just start.

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It's like a big puzzle and you only need one piece

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and then you make it bigger.

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And in this case we used his telephone.

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But whilst they knew that Devalda was in the area,

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Remco and his team were struggling to pinpoint his exact location.

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The phone taps gave us the information that he was going to flee to Spain,

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to Tenerife,

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at the beginning of February so we had to move rather quickly.

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It was time to switch tactics.

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Using old-fashioned surveillance, the undercover cops

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had to spot the fugitive in person.

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We saw him coming out of one of the houses and then it was for us the

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point, OK, now we are 100% sure that he's in the house.

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So we tried to, we start our preparations to arrest him.

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But in the four years since Devalda had fled,

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his appearance had changed drastically.

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We asked our British colleagues to come over

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because we knew that he had false passports,

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so we also wanted someone who could identify him.

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To help Dutch police make sure they had the right man,

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the National Crime Agency dispatched Graham Roberts to the scene.

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They asked whether I could go over to the Netherlands

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to give a briefing to the Dutch national police,

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to give them an understanding of who Sean was and to explain to them

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how much of a high-profile individual he was.

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The Dutch police's elite SWAT team

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were called in and readied themselves to strike.

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We were so close, we could smell him.

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We thought that we'd...

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..be able to move in on him.

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Could the dangerous fugitive's years on the run finally be over?

0:19:420:19:46

In Leeds, officers Dave Lockwood and Tom Allen from West Yorkshire Police

0:19:550:20:00

regularly search out foreign criminals wanted by police in their native country.

0:20:000:20:06

Tonight they're looking for a member of a serious organised crime gang

0:20:060:20:10

involved in the manufacture and distribution of illegal drugs.

0:20:100:20:14

The criminal they're after was convicted in Poland

0:20:160:20:19

and still has seven months of her prison sentence left to serve.

0:20:190:20:22

The sort of numbers we're talking about here is 6,000g of pure amphet.

0:20:250:20:29

So, a good level.

0:20:300:20:33

The offences date back to 2000, 1st of January 2000,

0:20:330:20:37

and go right through to...

0:20:370:20:39

..March 2007.

0:20:400:20:42

Poland wants to put this fugitive back behind bars.

0:20:430:20:47

West Yorkshire's police investigation has led them to this house

0:20:490:20:54

where they've found a Polish grandmother who speaks no English.

0:20:540:20:58

We're looking for Sylwia Sokolowska.

0:20:580:21:01

Is that yourself?

0:21:010:21:03

No? What's your name?

0:21:030:21:04

-ID card?

-Er...

0:21:050:21:06

Or passport?

0:21:060:21:08

SHE SPEAKS POLISH

0:21:090:21:11

Yeah, do you want to ring somebody,

0:21:140:21:15

a son or daughter that speaks English?

0:21:150:21:17

If not we can get Language Line.

0:21:170:21:19

The woman has called her daughter to translate.

0:21:220:21:25

What's your mum called, please?

0:21:250:21:28

Sylwia...

0:21:280:21:31

And what's her surname? Sokolowska.

0:21:310:21:33

Right, can I ask whereabouts do you live?

0:21:330:21:36

Are you local?

0:21:360:21:37

The woman's denied her name but Tom's speaking to the daughter

0:21:370:21:42

who has confirmed it is the wanted person.

0:21:420:21:44

I don't think it's malicious from her mother.

0:21:440:21:46

I think it's just poor English.

0:21:460:21:47

The woman's name is confirmed as Sylwia Analia Sokolowska.

0:21:470:21:51

She IS the one they're looking for.

0:21:510:21:53

Would that be OK, if you could?

0:21:530:21:55

Just stay on the line. What I'm going to do,

0:21:560:21:58

I'm going to pass you back to your mum.

0:21:580:22:00

If you can just...

0:22:000:22:02

If you just explain to her for now

0:22:020:22:04

that there is a warrant that's been issued in Poland for her arrest,

0:22:040:22:10

she doesn't need to worry,

0:22:100:22:11

and we'll explain in more details when the family member turns up and can translate for us. All right?

0:22:110:22:18

Tell her not to panic or get upset.

0:22:180:22:20

I don't like it when there's little kids in t'house.

0:22:230:22:25

You know, a three, four-year-old and we're going to be taking her grandma away.

0:22:270:22:32

Another family member who lives close by has come to translate.

0:22:320:22:36

If you can just tell her,

0:22:370:22:38

I have given her the documents which explains it.

0:22:380:22:41

The Polish authorities have issued an arrest warrant for the offence of

0:22:440:22:49

supplying controlled drugs.

0:22:490:22:52

OK? What Poland are telling us is that they want Sylwia to go back to

0:22:520:22:57

serve the rest of her sentence now.

0:22:570:22:59

She's going to be under arrest...

0:23:000:23:02

..for the offence.

0:23:040:23:05

As she begins to understand that justice has finally caught up with her,

0:23:090:23:13

the convicted drug dealer starts to get upset.

0:23:130:23:16

There is a human consequence and I feel for the family who lost

0:23:170:23:20

Grandmother. But she brought that about, not West Yorkshire Police,

0:23:200:23:25

SHE brought that about.

0:23:250:23:26

As she is arrested and taken from the house,

0:23:280:23:31

her family is also devastated.

0:23:320:23:34

Everyone's crying. The lady we've arrested's crying, daughter's crying,

0:23:360:23:40

the little girl's crying.

0:23:400:23:41

They're thinking this is the last time they're going to see her now

0:23:410:23:45

because we're going to take her, she's going to go to police station,

0:23:450:23:48

she's going to go to court, because they can't pay the bail she's going to go to prison.

0:23:480:23:51

So, they're really worried that she's going to, from there, go to Poland.

0:23:510:23:54

So unless they can get to London to see her at court or in prison,

0:23:540:23:57

they're really worried that obviously we're taking Grandma away.

0:23:570:23:59

She is wanted for some serious offences so there's nothing else

0:24:020:24:05

we're going to do bar arrest her and take her in.

0:24:050:24:07

All right?

0:24:070:24:08

If you were to see her out in the street or see her in the supermarket,

0:24:100:24:13

you wouldn't think the offences that's been put with her, or...

0:24:130:24:16

..what we've been told she's done.

0:24:180:24:19

No, you certainly wouldn't. I certainly wouldn't.

0:24:190:24:21

Just up to where Dave is, please.

0:24:220:24:24

At the police station, the drug-dealing grandmother's fingerprints are taken and sent

0:24:280:24:33

to Poland to confirm her identity.

0:24:330:24:36

For now she'll be locked in a cell and held in custody until she can be

0:24:360:24:41

brought before a judge and her case decided.

0:24:410:24:43

Though it's come as a shock to the woman and her family,

0:24:450:24:48

the police make no apologies for this arrest.

0:24:480:24:51

Drug dealers perpetuate misery

0:24:510:24:54

and the crime that funds that drug addiction.

0:24:540:24:58

So all drug dealers present as a single offender but I argue

0:24:580:25:02

that behind every drug dealer is a massive wave of criminality and misery

0:25:020:25:08

brought about by their greed and drug-trafficking.

0:25:080:25:11

It's the early hours of the morning

0:25:170:25:19

in a small village on the outskirts of Amsterdam.

0:25:190:25:22

A Dutch SWAT team is preparing to seize armed robber Sean Devalda.

0:25:230:25:27

He's a violent criminal who's been on the run for four years.

0:25:300:25:34

This is a dangerous operation.

0:25:340:25:36

Because of the difficulty to walk to the house and because we know it was

0:25:360:25:40

a very large criminal, we thought maybe there were weapons involved,

0:25:400:25:45

we didn't do the arrest ourselves but we asked our special raid team.

0:25:450:25:48

Graham Roberts from the National Crime Agency

0:25:500:25:54

was standing by to identify the wanted man.

0:25:540:25:57

It was around 4am or 5am.

0:25:570:25:59

The SWAT team had got in place.

0:25:590:26:02

My colleague and I were sat in a vehicle quite close by

0:26:020:26:05

and listening to a Dutch commentary and not understanding a word,

0:26:050:26:08

and just hoping for the positive words that he'd been arrested.

0:26:080:26:14

EXPLOSION, GLASS SHATTERS

0:26:140:26:16

But even after the arrest was made,

0:26:190:26:21

the Dutch team weren't sure who they'd captured.

0:26:210:26:25

We didn't recognise him from the picture

0:26:250:26:27

when he was arrested by the raid team.

0:26:270:26:29

But our British colleague was there.

0:26:290:26:31

At first Graham found it difficult to confirm the arrested man was indeed Devalda.

0:26:320:26:37

I remember walking through the door,

0:26:370:26:39

lots of police officers around,

0:26:390:26:41

and there was an individual there who looked nothing like the photo,

0:26:410:26:44

the mugshot, that I'd seen of Sean Devalda.

0:26:440:26:47

And then I was passed an Irish passport.

0:26:470:26:50

It was only then when I had a look at the Irish passport

0:26:500:26:52

and some of the documents, that I took over, I then started to see a striking resemblance.

0:26:520:26:57

And when I asked the officers, could I have a good look in Devalda's eyes?

0:26:570:27:02

It was then that I realised that that was him.

0:27:020:27:04

Detective Chief Inspector Aaron Duggan from Greater Manchester Police

0:27:050:27:09

had been hunting Devalda for four years.

0:27:090:27:13

He flew to Holland to bring the fugitive home to justice.

0:27:130:27:17

When I told him he was under arrest I could see a marked change in his

0:27:170:27:21

body language. He looked at the floor

0:27:210:27:23

and that's when I knew that it had dawned on him

0:27:230:27:25

that he was going to prison.

0:27:250:27:26

For the Dutch police, the operation to track down one of Europe's most

0:27:280:27:31

wanted was a great success.

0:27:310:27:35

It was very satisfying.

0:27:350:27:36

We were quite happy with the results.

0:27:360:27:38

The message is, don't come over here because you're not safe here as well.

0:27:380:27:44

EXPLOSION, GLASS SHATTERS

0:27:440:27:47

After four years on the run,

0:27:510:27:53

Sean Devalda was sentenced to six years in prison.

0:27:530:27:58

He was released in 2014 but is now back inside for drugs offences.

0:27:580:28:03

In June 2016, burglar Vilius Slyzauskas was sent back to Lithuania after losing his

0:28:030:28:10

appeal against extradition.

0:28:100:28:11

Drug-dealing grandmother Sylwia Sokolowska should have been extradited

0:28:130:28:17

back to Poland in November 2016.

0:28:170:28:21

But she went on the run before she could be put on a military flight

0:28:210:28:24

back to a Polish prison.

0:28:240:28:25

There's now another warrant out for her arrest in the UK.

0:28:270:28:30

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