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-Come on! -On the run... -Get back here! | 0:00:02 | 0:00:05 | |
-..and over here. -Hands out now! Hands out! | 0:00:05 | 0:00:08 | |
When foreign criminals flee their home countries, | 0:00:08 | 0:00:11 | |
many hide out in the UK. | 0:00:11 | 0:00:13 | |
-Give me your hands. -But if they think they're safe, they're wrong. | 0:00:13 | 0:00:17 | |
'They know they're wanted. | 0:00:17 | 0:00:19 | |
'A lot of these people are waiting for that knock on the door.' | 0:00:19 | 0:00:22 | |
But the traffic in fugitives isn't all one way. | 0:00:22 | 0:00:25 | |
Across Europe, there are hundreds of British criminals | 0:00:25 | 0:00:29 | |
also trying to escape justice. | 0:00:29 | 0:00:32 | |
From the sun-drenched Costas | 0:00:32 | 0:00:35 | |
to the busy streets of the Dutch capital... | 0:00:35 | 0:00:38 | |
..this is how the police take down the fugitives... | 0:00:38 | 0:00:41 | |
You're under arrest under the extradition act. | 0:00:41 | 0:00:44 | |
Police officer! | 0:00:44 | 0:00:46 | |
..both at home and abroad. | 0:00:46 | 0:00:48 | |
In today's programme, | 0:00:55 | 0:00:56 | |
could a man accused of murder during these riots | 0:00:56 | 0:00:59 | |
now be working in a West London newsagents? | 0:00:59 | 0:01:02 | |
-Is this your photograph? -No, sir. This one is not mine. | 0:01:02 | 0:01:06 | |
And how a major British drugs baron got his comeuppance | 0:01:06 | 0:01:10 | |
thanks to determined undercover Dutch officers. | 0:01:10 | 0:01:13 | |
When we heard it was a big fish we said to each other, | 0:01:13 | 0:01:16 | |
"You can run but you can't hide." | 0:01:16 | 0:01:19 | |
In London, the Metropolitan Police's extradition unit deals with hundreds | 0:01:26 | 0:01:30 | |
of cases each year. | 0:01:30 | 0:01:32 | |
It's DS Pete Rance's job to track down men and women wanted | 0:01:32 | 0:01:37 | |
in other countries. | 0:01:37 | 0:01:39 | |
There's a real mix of cases that we deal with. | 0:01:39 | 0:01:41 | |
Some are as simple as knocking on a front door | 0:01:41 | 0:01:43 | |
and people come willingly, | 0:01:43 | 0:01:45 | |
Others involve a lot of resources, a lot of time, | 0:01:45 | 0:01:49 | |
a lot of effort, a lot of detective work | 0:01:49 | 0:01:51 | |
to actually confirm people's identities. | 0:01:51 | 0:01:53 | |
And, you know, there are... | 0:01:53 | 0:01:56 | |
Living in the UK, there are people who don't want to be found. | 0:01:56 | 0:02:00 | |
Can you open the door, please? It's the police. | 0:02:01 | 0:02:05 | |
Most of the extradition unit's work involves finding fugitives | 0:02:05 | 0:02:09 | |
from other European countries hiding out in the capital, | 0:02:09 | 0:02:13 | |
but they're also responsible for arresting those | 0:02:13 | 0:02:16 | |
who are wanted further afield. | 0:02:16 | 0:02:18 | |
The team do deal with a wide range of offences. | 0:02:19 | 0:02:22 | |
They can be from a fraud - | 0:02:22 | 0:02:25 | |
what we'd consider to be a straightforward fraud - | 0:02:25 | 0:02:28 | |
through to wanted for murder. | 0:02:28 | 0:02:29 | |
We get requests from all over the world | 0:02:29 | 0:02:31 | |
and they are broken up into two regions. | 0:02:31 | 0:02:33 | |
One is EU and then the other is non-EU. | 0:02:33 | 0:02:35 | |
And there's different legislation and different thresholds | 0:02:35 | 0:02:38 | |
that need to be met for those two areas. | 0:02:38 | 0:02:40 | |
Back in 2002, riots in the Gujarat region of India | 0:02:42 | 0:02:47 | |
hit the headlines around the world. | 0:02:47 | 0:02:49 | |
-NEWS FOOTAGE: -These were Muslim homes torched last night | 0:02:49 | 0:02:52 | |
by an armed mob. Most of the Muslims fled, but not all. | 0:02:52 | 0:02:56 | |
-Five or six. -REPORTER: -Five or six children. | 0:03:02 | 0:03:04 | |
Widespread unrest between Muslims and Hindus led to the destruction | 0:03:04 | 0:03:09 | |
of villages and towns, and left over 3,000 people dead. | 0:03:09 | 0:03:14 | |
Intelligence that's just landed on Pete's desk indicates that one of | 0:03:15 | 0:03:19 | |
those accused of particularly serious offences | 0:03:19 | 0:03:22 | |
could now be living in London. It's disturbing reading. | 0:03:22 | 0:03:27 | |
These are statements from people in India detailing what they saw | 0:03:27 | 0:03:31 | |
and what happened. | 0:03:31 | 0:03:33 | |
You know, it's... Some of it's quite...graphic. | 0:03:33 | 0:03:37 | |
You know, people being sprayed with kerosene. | 0:03:37 | 0:03:41 | |
That's the sort of thing we're dealing with here in terms of... | 0:03:41 | 0:03:45 | |
what he's believed to have been part of. | 0:03:45 | 0:03:49 | |
The accused man's name is Samir Vinubhai Patel - | 0:03:49 | 0:03:53 | |
wanted for murder, arson and riot in India. | 0:03:53 | 0:03:57 | |
The accusation is that a group of Hindu men have attacked | 0:03:57 | 0:04:01 | |
a Muslim village, poured kerosene on properties. | 0:04:01 | 0:04:05 | |
It resulted in burning people alive. Extremely serious. | 0:04:05 | 0:04:10 | |
And India issued a formal request | 0:04:10 | 0:04:13 | |
for the extradition of Samir Vinubhai Patel, | 0:04:13 | 0:04:18 | |
after an Interpol circulation had been made | 0:04:18 | 0:04:21 | |
seeking his whereabouts. | 0:04:21 | 0:04:24 | |
With new information about a potential address for Patel in | 0:04:26 | 0:04:30 | |
West London, Pete wastes no time in briefing his colleagues, | 0:04:30 | 0:04:33 | |
DCs Dave Salmon and Carly Rigg. | 0:04:33 | 0:04:37 | |
So the intention today is to go to this bloke's work address, | 0:04:37 | 0:04:41 | |
which is a newsagents over in... Near Heathrow Airport, in Hounslow. | 0:04:41 | 0:04:45 | |
I'll go into the address, ascertain that he's in there and working. | 0:04:45 | 0:04:49 | |
He was in there last week working on the Tuesday. | 0:04:49 | 0:04:52 | |
We had someone have eyes on him last week. | 0:04:52 | 0:04:55 | |
So we're confident there's a strong possibility that he'll be there. | 0:04:55 | 0:04:59 | |
-Right. -Everyone happy? | 0:04:59 | 0:05:02 | |
Yeah, happy with that. | 0:05:02 | 0:05:04 | |
The key to establishing the suspect's identity | 0:05:04 | 0:05:07 | |
is a series of photographs linking Patel to the riots in India | 0:05:07 | 0:05:11 | |
and a later offence in the UK. | 0:05:11 | 0:05:14 | |
The gentleman that they want is this individual here. | 0:05:14 | 0:05:20 | |
It's the person that's wanted in India. | 0:05:22 | 0:05:25 | |
We know that that same man made an application for a UK visa | 0:05:25 | 0:05:30 | |
back in 2005 and the application was granted in 2006. | 0:05:30 | 0:05:35 | |
And the work we've done has established that this individual | 0:05:35 | 0:05:39 | |
was arrested in 2013 for shoplifting in the UK, in London. | 0:05:39 | 0:05:44 | |
And it's our belief that these two men are one and the same. | 0:05:44 | 0:05:49 | |
But when they arrive, the man working in the shop | 0:05:49 | 0:05:52 | |
says he's not the man shown on Pete's paperwork. | 0:05:52 | 0:05:56 | |
-Is this your photograph? -No, it's my one - other one. | 0:05:56 | 0:05:59 | |
No is my one. | 0:05:59 | 0:06:00 | |
He's accepted initially the photograph is him, | 0:06:00 | 0:06:03 | |
although I think when he's realised what's about to come | 0:06:03 | 0:06:06 | |
-he's then retracted that. -No, sir, this one is not mine. | 0:06:06 | 0:06:09 | |
You're saying it's not you now? | 0:06:09 | 0:06:11 | |
The Pennines - high moorland dividing northern England. | 0:06:14 | 0:06:18 | |
Back in 2012, these quiet roads | 0:06:20 | 0:06:23 | |
were arteries for the trafficking of drugs between | 0:06:23 | 0:06:26 | |
two organised crime gangs on either side of the country. | 0:06:26 | 0:06:30 | |
It was drugs. It was a lot of drugs. | 0:06:30 | 0:06:32 | |
There was a lot of money changing hands. | 0:06:32 | 0:06:35 | |
The trade centred on Liverpool on the west coast, | 0:06:35 | 0:06:38 | |
and Hartlepool on the east. | 0:06:38 | 0:06:40 | |
For years, police in both areas struggled to find the ringleader. | 0:06:41 | 0:06:47 | |
But when surveillance officers staked out an Italian restaurant | 0:06:47 | 0:06:50 | |
in Wetherby in West Yorkshire in September 2012, | 0:06:50 | 0:06:53 | |
they were able to identify the Mr Big of the operation. | 0:06:53 | 0:06:59 | |
It was this man, Ian Stanton, who was running the show. | 0:06:59 | 0:07:03 | |
His Merseyside gang was peddling drugs to a huge area, | 0:07:03 | 0:07:07 | |
from the Midlands all the way up to Scotland. | 0:07:07 | 0:07:11 | |
In the north-east we're just one element of his operations. | 0:07:11 | 0:07:16 | |
From the vast telephone analysis we did, | 0:07:16 | 0:07:18 | |
he was sending couriers on a daily basis | 0:07:18 | 0:07:22 | |
to different parts of the country. | 0:07:22 | 0:07:25 | |
With Stanton and other gang members identified, | 0:07:25 | 0:07:28 | |
police in the north-east were able to seize huge quantities of drugs | 0:07:28 | 0:07:32 | |
and cash in seven different operations. | 0:07:32 | 0:07:35 | |
But it seemed to make little difference. | 0:07:35 | 0:07:39 | |
They had immense resilience because they had so much money, | 0:07:39 | 0:07:42 | |
so many drugs. | 0:07:42 | 0:07:44 | |
It didn't seem to matter what we did or what drugs we took out, | 0:07:44 | 0:07:48 | |
they had the ability to keep going. | 0:07:48 | 0:07:51 | |
By now, Ian Stanton was one of the UK's biggest drug dealers. | 0:07:51 | 0:07:56 | |
The National Crime Agency, | 0:07:57 | 0:07:59 | |
who lead the UK's fight against serious and organised crime, | 0:07:59 | 0:08:03 | |
were keen to take him down. | 0:08:03 | 0:08:05 | |
This surveillance officer was part of the operation. | 0:08:05 | 0:08:10 | |
He was a nationwide criminal. | 0:08:10 | 0:08:12 | |
Not just nationwide - internationally, as well. | 0:08:12 | 0:08:15 | |
He had links to the north-east. | 0:08:15 | 0:08:17 | |
He travelled to London frequently. | 0:08:17 | 0:08:20 | |
So, basically, borders held no bounds for him. | 0:08:20 | 0:08:24 | |
Then in May 2013 came a major breakthrough. | 0:08:24 | 0:08:28 | |
In a shipping container of frozen beef at Tilbury Docks in Essex, | 0:08:28 | 0:08:32 | |
officers working for the port uncovered 400 kilos of cocaine | 0:08:32 | 0:08:38 | |
hidden in 16 holdalls. | 0:08:38 | 0:08:40 | |
It had a street value of £71 million. | 0:08:40 | 0:08:44 | |
We've gathered evidence before, | 0:08:44 | 0:08:46 | |
but we've never had a seizure of such a large amount. | 0:08:46 | 0:08:48 | |
400 kilos of cocaine is very significant. | 0:08:48 | 0:08:52 | |
Obviously to flood the streets with that amount of commodity would cause | 0:08:52 | 0:08:55 | |
some serious harm to local communities. | 0:08:55 | 0:08:58 | |
It was one of the biggest drugs hauls ever seen in the UK | 0:08:58 | 0:09:02 | |
and it gave officers the opportunity to plan a daring sting, | 0:09:02 | 0:09:07 | |
hoping to catch Stanton and his gang red-handed. | 0:09:07 | 0:09:11 | |
In West Yorkshire, a two-man team are out to find and arrest foreign offenders. | 0:09:11 | 0:09:15 | |
It's 11 o'clock on a Monday night, and PCs Tom Allen and Dave Lockwood | 0:09:27 | 0:09:31 | |
are setting off in search of a man who is very difficult to find. | 0:09:31 | 0:09:35 | |
So tonight we're going to be looking for a lad | 0:09:38 | 0:09:41 | |
who we've been looking for for probably a couple of months now. | 0:09:41 | 0:09:45 | |
He's got loads and loads of addresses in Leeds | 0:09:45 | 0:09:49 | |
and I've been working my way through them. | 0:09:49 | 0:09:51 | |
And, in truth, it's been hard work because he moves around so much. | 0:09:51 | 0:09:56 | |
The team head towards Leeds and the last-known address for the man | 0:09:56 | 0:10:00 | |
they're looking for. | 0:10:00 | 0:10:02 | |
Ladislav Danco is accused of four offences, | 0:10:05 | 0:10:09 | |
including theft and burglary, | 0:10:09 | 0:10:11 | |
back home in the Czech Republic. | 0:10:11 | 0:10:14 | |
He's wanted by the Czech authorities for | 0:10:14 | 0:10:18 | |
"theft from a shop, burglary, damage to motor vehicle | 0:10:18 | 0:10:21 | |
"and section five of the Public Order Act." | 0:10:21 | 0:10:24 | |
But the man they're after has made a basic mistake. | 0:10:24 | 0:10:28 | |
It's a stroke of luck, really. | 0:10:28 | 0:10:30 | |
This gentleman has lost his ID, lost his passport | 0:10:30 | 0:10:34 | |
and a number of other ID within the Leeds area, | 0:10:34 | 0:10:36 | |
so he's contacted the police to report that missing. | 0:10:36 | 0:10:40 | |
In doing that, it's given us a new address, | 0:10:40 | 0:10:43 | |
which has saved me a lot of time. | 0:10:43 | 0:10:46 | |
There's a contradiction there. There's a guy wanted. | 0:10:46 | 0:10:50 | |
He's tried to remain at large by changing his address frequently, | 0:10:50 | 0:10:54 | |
but after a period of time there | 0:10:54 | 0:10:55 | |
becomes that normalisation where | 0:10:55 | 0:10:57 | |
they believe that they're no longer wanted, | 0:10:57 | 0:10:59 | |
there's no-one looking for them, | 0:10:59 | 0:11:01 | |
and they try to assimilate into society. | 0:11:01 | 0:11:04 | |
And it's quite a natural, normal thing to do to, | 0:11:04 | 0:11:07 | |
to report your passport missing at a police station. | 0:11:07 | 0:11:09 | |
He was clearly unaware that by doing that he was just introducing himself | 0:11:09 | 0:11:13 | |
to law enforcement to say, "Here I am." | 0:11:13 | 0:11:17 | |
When Dave and Tom arrive at the new address, | 0:11:19 | 0:11:22 | |
at first there's no sign of the man wanted in the Czech Republic. | 0:11:22 | 0:11:27 | |
Young kid having his tea. | 0:11:27 | 0:11:29 | |
KNOCK AT DOOR | 0:11:29 | 0:11:31 | |
I think he's eating a tub of ice cream. | 0:11:31 | 0:11:35 | |
-Hello, love. -Hello. -Hello, it's the police. | 0:11:35 | 0:11:38 | |
Are you OK? Am I OK to come in and talk with you? | 0:11:38 | 0:11:41 | |
-Yeah. -OK. Do you speak good English? | 0:11:41 | 0:11:43 | |
OK. What nationality are you, please? | 0:11:43 | 0:11:46 | |
-Me? -Yeah. -Czech Republic. -Czech Republic. | 0:11:46 | 0:11:49 | |
Is there anybody else in the house? | 0:11:49 | 0:11:51 | |
Yeah, my stepdad. | 0:11:51 | 0:11:53 | |
-What he's called? -Ladislav. -Ladislav. | 0:11:53 | 0:11:56 | |
Can you ask him to come down, please, so I can talk to you all? | 0:11:56 | 0:11:59 | |
-Would that be OK? Hello, Ladislav. -Are you OK? | 0:11:59 | 0:12:02 | |
-OK. -Do you speak good English? | 0:12:02 | 0:12:04 | |
Ladislav clearly hasn't been expecting visitors, | 0:12:04 | 0:12:07 | |
and it's obvious he speaks little English. | 0:12:07 | 0:12:11 | |
I'm going to get a police interpreter on the phone, OK? | 0:12:11 | 0:12:14 | |
-And then we'll talk to you. -I'll just go upstairs with you. | 0:12:14 | 0:12:17 | |
Whilst Ladislav Danco gets dressed, | 0:12:17 | 0:12:20 | |
Dave calls an interpreter who will explain the charges. | 0:12:20 | 0:12:24 | |
I will be arresting this male and I need to use yourself to explain | 0:12:24 | 0:12:28 | |
to him what's happening, | 0:12:28 | 0:12:31 | |
so he'll know what I'm arresting him for, | 0:12:31 | 0:12:33 | |
and obviously if he's got any medical conditions or anything | 0:12:33 | 0:12:35 | |
before we leave the house. | 0:12:35 | 0:12:37 | |
Ladislav, come and take a seat, please. | 0:12:39 | 0:12:42 | |
-Yeah, yeah. -On here I have the interpreter. So take a seat. | 0:12:42 | 0:12:46 | |
-Do you just want to make sure you can understand her? -Hello. | 0:12:46 | 0:12:50 | |
You can understand her? If you can explain to him the reason I'm here | 0:12:50 | 0:12:54 | |
is there's a European arrest warrant being issued for him | 0:12:54 | 0:12:57 | |
by the Czech authorities. | 0:12:57 | 0:13:01 | |
The man's partner is anxious. | 0:13:01 | 0:13:02 | |
She wants to know where he will be taken. | 0:13:02 | 0:13:05 | |
He'll be going to court tomorrow in London, OK? | 0:13:05 | 0:13:07 | |
OK, say again, please. Tomorrow is London court? | 0:13:07 | 0:13:11 | |
Yes, yes. There's two courts tomorrow, 10am and 2pm. | 0:13:11 | 0:13:15 | |
We always aim to get them there for ten, OK? | 0:13:15 | 0:13:17 | |
If, for any reason, they're really busy tomorrow, | 0:13:17 | 0:13:20 | |
it may get pushed on to 2pm. | 0:13:20 | 0:13:22 | |
But, as it stands, I aim to get him there ready at court for 10am. | 0:13:22 | 0:13:26 | |
If there's nothing else, we're going to be leaving now, OK? | 0:13:26 | 0:13:29 | |
All right. Come with me, fella. | 0:13:29 | 0:13:31 | |
You got it? | 0:13:33 | 0:13:35 | |
-Right. Just put your hands out. -Sorry. | 0:13:35 | 0:13:38 | |
You're OK. | 0:13:38 | 0:13:40 | |
Just... OK? Are they all right? | 0:13:43 | 0:13:46 | |
Ladislav Danco will be taken to a custody suite in Leeds, | 0:13:52 | 0:13:56 | |
where his identity will be checked and confirmed. | 0:13:56 | 0:13:59 | |
Two thumbs. | 0:13:59 | 0:14:01 | |
Tomorrow morning, he will be taken to Westminster Magistrates' Court. | 0:14:01 | 0:14:04 | |
The fact that he could be sent home | 0:14:04 | 0:14:06 | |
to face trial for four different offences seems to be sinking in. | 0:14:06 | 0:14:11 | |
It's the end of a long shift, | 0:14:15 | 0:14:17 | |
and time for Dave and Tom to tackle the paperwork | 0:14:17 | 0:14:20 | |
to start the extradition process. | 0:14:20 | 0:14:24 | |
It's likely that Ladislav Danco will stay in this country | 0:14:24 | 0:14:26 | |
for several more months until that is complete. | 0:14:26 | 0:14:30 | |
For now, the authorities will be keeping a close eye on him. | 0:14:30 | 0:14:34 | |
Tomorrow's probably going to be 500 to £1,500 to get bail. | 0:14:34 | 0:14:38 | |
On top of that, he will have to sign on at a police station, | 0:14:38 | 0:14:41 | |
probably three times a week. | 0:14:41 | 0:14:43 | |
He will probably have a curfew at home and he will get a tag. | 0:14:43 | 0:14:47 | |
Kingpin Ian Stanton ran a drug-dealing empire from Merseyside, | 0:14:53 | 0:14:57 | |
doing business with crime gangs across the country. | 0:14:57 | 0:15:02 | |
In 2012, Cleveland Police had already seized large quantities | 0:15:02 | 0:15:07 | |
of the cocaine and amphetamine | 0:15:07 | 0:15:08 | |
supplied to dealers in the north-east, | 0:15:08 | 0:15:10 | |
but the gang seemed unstoppable. | 0:15:10 | 0:15:13 | |
If they lost a kilo of cocaine it didn't really seem to make | 0:15:13 | 0:15:17 | |
that much difference to them. | 0:15:17 | 0:15:18 | |
They had the money and the means to get a resupply. | 0:15:18 | 0:15:23 | |
The National Crime Agency launched an investigation into Ian Stanton | 0:15:23 | 0:15:27 | |
and his gang. This surveillance officer was involved. | 0:15:27 | 0:15:31 | |
He was a nationwide criminal. | 0:15:31 | 0:15:32 | |
In fact, not just a nationwide - internationally as well. | 0:15:32 | 0:15:36 | |
Borders held no bounds for him. | 0:15:36 | 0:15:38 | |
The investigation made a major breakthrough | 0:15:38 | 0:15:42 | |
when a huge quantity of cocaine was discovered hidden | 0:15:42 | 0:15:45 | |
in a shipment of beef at Tilbury Docks in Essex. | 0:15:45 | 0:15:50 | |
Port authority opened up the back of the container and found within it, | 0:15:50 | 0:15:53 | |
piled up high, just at the front where you open the doors, | 0:15:53 | 0:15:56 | |
black holdalls - large black holdalls. | 0:15:56 | 0:15:59 | |
Within the large black holdalls were kilo-sized shrink-wrapped packages. | 0:15:59 | 0:16:06 | |
Inside the frozen meat container were 400 kilos of drugs | 0:16:06 | 0:16:11 | |
destined for the north-west. | 0:16:11 | 0:16:14 | |
We couldn't believe how much commodity actually was within | 0:16:14 | 0:16:17 | |
the container, to be honest. | 0:16:17 | 0:16:18 | |
We did tests on the drugs and we identified that it was cocaine, | 0:16:18 | 0:16:24 | |
79% pure, a street value of approximately 70 million. | 0:16:24 | 0:16:29 | |
At the NCA, officers devised a plan to catch dealers red-handed. | 0:16:31 | 0:16:36 | |
They replaced the cocaine with dummy packages | 0:16:36 | 0:16:40 | |
and watched to see who would collect them. | 0:16:40 | 0:16:43 | |
We ended up basically dummying the load, | 0:16:43 | 0:16:45 | |
changing the drugs for an innocuous substance. | 0:16:45 | 0:16:48 | |
The lorry of frozen beef with the dummy drugs on board was followed | 0:16:48 | 0:16:53 | |
the 250 miles from Tilbury to Wigan. | 0:16:53 | 0:16:57 | |
Surveillance officers looked on as one of the crew collected the drugs. | 0:16:57 | 0:17:03 | |
It didn't take him long to discover the switch | 0:17:03 | 0:17:05 | |
and call the rest of his gang to a crisis meeting, | 0:17:05 | 0:17:09 | |
all under the watchful gaze of the NCA surveillance team. | 0:17:09 | 0:17:14 | |
We covered a meeting on the Thursday of the 16th of May in Aintree | 0:17:14 | 0:17:19 | |
where five individuals had a meeting to discuss the loss of commodity, | 0:17:19 | 0:17:24 | |
as in, they didn't know where the cocaine had gone. | 0:17:24 | 0:17:27 | |
The meeting was headed by Ian Stanton | 0:17:27 | 0:17:30 | |
and they were discussing how they could recover the drugs. | 0:17:30 | 0:17:33 | |
But with the massive haul of drugs seized and the police on his trail, | 0:17:33 | 0:17:37 | |
Stanton decided it was time to leave the country, | 0:17:37 | 0:17:41 | |
and although he was fleeing the UK, | 0:17:41 | 0:17:43 | |
he'd still continue to run his empire from abroad. | 0:17:43 | 0:17:48 | |
He was very much in control on a daily basis. | 0:17:48 | 0:17:51 | |
He would send orders out to those beneath him, | 0:17:51 | 0:17:53 | |
he constantly wanted reassuring that his orders were being carried out. | 0:17:53 | 0:17:59 | |
He wanted to know who had received what drugs, | 0:17:59 | 0:18:01 | |
what money they'd collected in. | 0:18:01 | 0:18:03 | |
It seemed likely that Stanton was running things from somewhere | 0:18:03 | 0:18:06 | |
in the Netherlands where he was known to have contacts. | 0:18:06 | 0:18:10 | |
Six months later, a chance encounter with undercover police | 0:18:14 | 0:18:18 | |
in Rotterdam would blow his cover. | 0:18:18 | 0:18:20 | |
Thinking they were tackling a small-time drugs dealer, | 0:18:33 | 0:18:37 | |
the officers drove to the house in the north of the city | 0:18:37 | 0:18:40 | |
where they believed ecstasy was being dealt. | 0:18:40 | 0:18:43 | |
Coming up... | 0:18:52 | 0:18:54 | |
Dutch cops come face-to-face with Merseyside's most wanted. | 0:18:54 | 0:18:58 | |
In Hounslow, Pete Rance and his team of detectives are getting ready to | 0:19:16 | 0:19:20 | |
arrest a man accused of a long list of crimes committed in India. | 0:19:20 | 0:19:24 | |
During widespread rioting in Gujarat back in 2002, | 0:19:25 | 0:19:30 | |
Samir Patel is accused of burning three people to death | 0:19:30 | 0:19:34 | |
as well as arson and rioting. | 0:19:34 | 0:19:39 | |
He got a visa... Legitimately obtained a visa | 0:19:39 | 0:19:41 | |
to come to the United Kingdom in 2005 | 0:19:41 | 0:19:44 | |
but it was only a short-term visa | 0:19:44 | 0:19:46 | |
and what happened was he didn't go back, he disappeared into the ether. | 0:19:46 | 0:19:49 | |
He got arrested a few years ago for shoplifting | 0:19:49 | 0:19:52 | |
in the United Kingdom and provided a different date of birth | 0:19:52 | 0:19:55 | |
with just the name Samir Patel, | 0:19:55 | 0:19:58 | |
which in itself is quite a common name, | 0:19:58 | 0:20:01 | |
so that didn't lead to us being able to locate or find him | 0:20:01 | 0:20:05 | |
at that particular time. | 0:20:05 | 0:20:06 | |
But further work that's been done led us to believe that | 0:20:06 | 0:20:09 | |
the Samir Patel that did get arrested for shoplifting | 0:20:09 | 0:20:13 | |
back in 2013 was in fact the person that was wanted in India. | 0:20:13 | 0:20:18 | |
The team have tracked Patel down to a newsagents in Hounslow, | 0:20:19 | 0:20:23 | |
West London. Posing as a customer, Pete pops into the shop | 0:20:23 | 0:20:27 | |
to check if he's there. | 0:20:27 | 0:20:29 | |
And our man's serving. He soon returns with good news. | 0:20:29 | 0:20:33 | |
Right, everyone ready? Let's go. | 0:20:33 | 0:20:36 | |
It's time to make the arrest. | 0:20:38 | 0:20:41 | |
But first the team must confirm his identity. | 0:20:41 | 0:20:43 | |
My name's Pete Rance, I'm a detective sergeant with the Metropolitan Police. | 0:20:46 | 0:20:49 | |
-Can we just ask you your name, please? -Patel. -And your first name? | 0:20:49 | 0:20:52 | |
S Patel. S Patel. | 0:20:52 | 0:20:54 | |
S. What's the S stand for? | 0:20:54 | 0:20:56 | |
-Sam Patel. Sam Patel. -Sam? | 0:20:56 | 0:20:59 | |
Sam. Have you got any middle names? | 0:20:59 | 0:21:01 | |
-Yeah. -What's your middle name? -Samir Patel. Samir Patel. | 0:21:01 | 0:21:05 | |
And do you have a middle...? A middle name in the middle? | 0:21:05 | 0:21:08 | |
-S V Patel. S V Patel. -Asri? -Samir V Patel. | 0:21:08 | 0:21:11 | |
-V? What does the V stand for? Vinubhai. -Vinubhai. | 0:21:11 | 0:21:16 | |
'It helps a great deal if the person that you've got before you' | 0:21:16 | 0:21:18 | |
actually acknowledges and accepts that they're the person | 0:21:18 | 0:21:21 | |
wanted in that jurisdiction because then the issue's taken away | 0:21:21 | 0:21:24 | |
from the court, we can provide the evidence that they have consent... | 0:21:24 | 0:21:27 | |
That they have acknowledged that they're the person that's wanted. | 0:21:27 | 0:21:31 | |
Is that you when you were younger? | 0:21:31 | 0:21:33 | |
-No, sir. -It is you? -I think so. -You think? | 0:21:36 | 0:21:39 | |
-Yes. -It is you, yeah? | 0:21:41 | 0:21:44 | |
At first, the man agrees that | 0:21:44 | 0:21:45 | |
he is the man in the photograph Pete shows him. | 0:21:45 | 0:21:47 | |
And this is you when you made an application for a visa to come to | 0:21:47 | 0:21:50 | |
-the United Kingdom? -No. -Same person. -No. | 0:21:50 | 0:21:54 | |
-Samir Vinubhai. -But then he changes his story. | 0:21:54 | 0:21:58 | |
-Yeah? -I'm... I don't think so. -No, this is you, though, yeah? | 0:21:58 | 0:22:02 | |
-This is your photograph. -No, is my one is the other one. | 0:22:02 | 0:22:05 | |
-No, sir, this one is not mine. -You're saying it's not you, now? -No. | 0:22:05 | 0:22:09 | |
Pete perseveres, and a new line of questioning seems to help. | 0:22:09 | 0:22:14 | |
What's your father's name? | 0:22:14 | 0:22:16 | |
-Vinubhai. -Vinubhai. | 0:22:16 | 0:22:18 | |
So, father's name is Vinubhai. What's your mother's name? | 0:22:18 | 0:22:22 | |
-Vimlaben. -Vimlaben. -Yeah. -Yeah? So this is you. | 0:22:22 | 0:22:26 | |
The crime was an old photo and obviously in the 14 years plus | 0:22:26 | 0:22:29 | |
that have passed, his appearance had changed. | 0:22:29 | 0:22:32 | |
I was absolutely confident that the person that I had before me was | 0:22:32 | 0:22:37 | |
in fact that the person that was wanted back in India. | 0:22:37 | 0:22:39 | |
-You said this is you. -No, sir, this one is not mine. | 0:22:39 | 0:22:42 | |
Patel seems intent on denying he's the man on the application for | 0:22:42 | 0:22:45 | |
a visa that's now expired until Pete reveals he's there to arrest him | 0:22:45 | 0:22:50 | |
for a long list of very serious crimes. | 0:22:50 | 0:22:54 | |
You're accused of murder by setting on fire Kadarbhai Ismailbhai Vora. | 0:22:54 | 0:23:00 | |
You're wanted for murder by setting on fire Aaiyeshaben Abdulbhai. | 0:23:00 | 0:23:06 | |
And you're wanted for murder by setting on fire Nuriben Gafurbhai. | 0:23:06 | 0:23:11 | |
OK? You're under arrest on the warrant. | 0:23:11 | 0:23:13 | |
You do not have to say anything. | 0:23:13 | 0:23:15 | |
Anything you do say may be given in evidence. | 0:23:15 | 0:23:17 | |
Do you understand? | 0:23:17 | 0:23:19 | |
You're under arrest. | 0:23:19 | 0:23:22 | |
I'm just going to put these on you, OK, until we go to | 0:23:22 | 0:23:25 | |
a police station and we can take them off, OK? | 0:23:25 | 0:23:27 | |
OK, sir. | 0:23:27 | 0:23:29 | |
-I'm nothing what I was. -It's the same people. The same people. | 0:23:32 | 0:23:36 | |
OK, we're going to take you to a central London police station, | 0:23:36 | 0:23:40 | |
OK, and then you'll be put before a court this afternoon. | 0:23:40 | 0:23:43 | |
It went as well as I hoped it would actually because he'd initially | 0:23:46 | 0:23:50 | |
given us the name Samir Vinubhai Patel, | 0:23:50 | 0:23:54 | |
which is the name on the warrant. | 0:23:54 | 0:23:56 | |
He's accepted initially that the photograph | 0:23:56 | 0:24:00 | |
of the requested person is him, although I think when he's realised | 0:24:00 | 0:24:04 | |
what's about to come he's then retracted | 0:24:04 | 0:24:06 | |
and said that the second photograph isn't him. | 0:24:06 | 0:24:09 | |
Samir Patel is taken into custody at Charing Cross Police Station. | 0:24:13 | 0:24:17 | |
Tomorrow, the man accused of three horrific murders will be put before | 0:24:17 | 0:24:22 | |
a judge who will rule on his extradition to India. | 0:24:22 | 0:24:25 | |
At Tilbury Docks in Essex in May 2013, | 0:24:35 | 0:24:39 | |
a routine search uncovered one of the biggest hauls of drugs | 0:24:39 | 0:24:43 | |
to be smuggled into the UK - | 0:24:43 | 0:24:46 | |
£70 million worth of cocaine hidden in a shipping container | 0:24:46 | 0:24:50 | |
full of frozen beef. | 0:24:50 | 0:24:52 | |
We couldn't believe how much commodity was actually within | 0:24:52 | 0:24:54 | |
the container, to the honest. | 0:24:54 | 0:24:56 | |
We did tests on the drugs and we identified | 0:24:56 | 0:24:59 | |
that it was cocaine, 79% pure. | 0:24:59 | 0:25:02 | |
Heading up the gang tasked with recovering the drugs | 0:25:04 | 0:25:07 | |
was Ian Stanton. | 0:25:07 | 0:25:09 | |
But when investigators began to close in, he went on the run. | 0:25:09 | 0:25:13 | |
Six months later, undercover officers in the Netherlands | 0:25:18 | 0:25:21 | |
went to investigate an address in Rotterdam. | 0:25:21 | 0:25:25 | |
They'd been tipped off that small quantities of drugs | 0:25:25 | 0:25:27 | |
were being sold from the house. | 0:25:27 | 0:25:30 | |
What they didn't realise was that | 0:25:30 | 0:25:32 | |
one of the UK's most wanted fugitives was hiding inside. | 0:25:32 | 0:25:36 | |
Upstairs, Stanton was hiding. | 0:25:47 | 0:25:51 | |
With the cuffs on the fugitive, they searched the house. | 0:25:54 | 0:25:58 | |
Intelligence officers set about establishing who the man | 0:26:14 | 0:26:18 | |
they'd arrested was. | 0:26:18 | 0:26:20 | |
Stanton was using a false passport but checks on his documents | 0:26:20 | 0:26:24 | |
and fingerprints soon identified him. | 0:26:24 | 0:26:28 | |
We then took contact with the English police through Interpol | 0:26:28 | 0:26:32 | |
and they said, well, Stanton is one of their most wanted criminals | 0:26:32 | 0:26:37 | |
in England and this is his picture. | 0:26:37 | 0:26:39 | |
At the NCA, the surveillance team who'd helped track him | 0:26:53 | 0:26:57 | |
were delighted that Ian Stanton, | 0:26:57 | 0:26:59 | |
one of Merseyside's most notorious drug barons, | 0:26:59 | 0:27:02 | |
was to be returned to the UK to face justice. | 0:27:02 | 0:27:06 | |
He was actually extradited back to the UK | 0:27:06 | 0:27:09 | |
on the 18th December 2013 and that was a good day for the team. | 0:27:09 | 0:27:12 | |
We sent a member of our staff down to arrest him, | 0:27:12 | 0:27:14 | |
brought him back to the north-west area. | 0:27:14 | 0:27:17 | |
The team were really pleased because obviously it's sending a message | 0:27:17 | 0:27:20 | |
out to the public that basically no matter where you go, | 0:27:20 | 0:27:23 | |
you've got no way to hide and we will look for you, | 0:27:23 | 0:27:26 | |
we will find you and we will bring you back. | 0:27:26 | 0:27:28 | |
Ladislav Danco - wanted for offences including theft and burglary, | 0:27:37 | 0:27:41 | |
is currently on bail while he appeals against his extradition. | 0:27:41 | 0:27:45 | |
Samir Patel appeared at Westminster Magistrates' Court in August 2016. | 0:27:49 | 0:27:54 | |
He consented to his extradition and is now in India. | 0:27:57 | 0:28:01 | |
And Merseyside's most wanted, Ian Stanton, | 0:28:02 | 0:28:06 | |
was in November 2013 sentenced to 12 years in prison. | 0:28:06 | 0:28:11 | |
He was jailed for a further 16 years in June 2015 for his part in | 0:28:11 | 0:28:15 | |
another multi-million pound drugs conspiracy. | 0:28:15 | 0:28:19 |