0:00:02 > 0:00:03Come on!
0:00:03 > 0:00:05- On the run... - Get back here!
0:00:05 > 0:00:06..and over here.
0:00:06 > 0:00:08Hands out now, hands out!
0:00:08 > 0:00:11When foreign criminals flee their home countries,
0:00:11 > 0:00:13many hide out in the UK.
0:00:13 > 0:00:15Give me your hands!
0:00:15 > 0:00:17But if they think they're safe, they're wrong.
0:00:17 > 0:00:18They know they're wanted.
0:00:18 > 0:00:21A lot of these people are waiting for that knock on the door.
0:00:21 > 0:00:25But the traffic in Fugitives isn't all one way.
0:00:25 > 0:00:29Across Europe, there are hundreds of British criminals
0:00:29 > 0:00:32also trying to escape justice.
0:00:32 > 0:00:38From the sun-drenched Costas to the busy streets of the Dutch capital,
0:00:38 > 0:00:41this is how the police take down the fugitives.
0:00:41 > 0:00:43You're under arrest under the Extradition Act.
0:00:43 > 0:00:45Police officer!
0:00:45 > 0:00:48Both at home and abroad.
0:00:54 > 0:00:55On today's programme,
0:00:55 > 0:00:58the search for an elusive Polish drug dealer.
0:00:58 > 0:01:00He's not at work.
0:01:00 > 0:01:03The staff there have told us he's just left 15 minutes ago.
0:01:03 > 0:01:05He's not at home.
0:01:05 > 0:01:06Karol?
0:01:06 > 0:01:07Will it be third time lucky
0:01:07 > 0:01:11in the never-ending search for this phantom fugitive?
0:01:12 > 0:01:15And the Liverpool gangsters who ran a campaign of terror...
0:01:15 > 0:01:17from a prison cell.
0:01:17 > 0:01:21These two individuals were really dangerous.
0:01:21 > 0:01:24They had a long history of violence.
0:01:24 > 0:01:26But when they were busted out of a prison van
0:01:26 > 0:01:28and fled to another country,
0:01:28 > 0:01:33they were betrayed by their own phones.
0:01:37 > 0:01:39For a week in November,
0:01:39 > 0:01:43police across the UK run a special operation,
0:01:43 > 0:01:47cracking down on foreign criminals hiding out in Britain.
0:01:47 > 0:01:50In Redditch, Worcestershire,
0:01:50 > 0:01:53police constables Carl Lacey and Danny Evans are working
0:01:53 > 0:01:55with a team of other officers.
0:01:57 > 0:02:00They have a long list of outstanding European arrest warrants
0:02:00 > 0:02:05for foreigners who have committed crimes back in their native countries.
0:02:07 > 0:02:11We know it's hard work, but you have to put the time in to get results.
0:02:13 > 0:02:16Their next case will prove to be a tricky one.
0:02:17 > 0:02:21They're after a Polish man called Karol Michalski -
0:02:21 > 0:02:25a serious criminal sentenced to a total of 45 years in prison
0:02:25 > 0:02:28for drug dealing and multiple thefts.
0:02:29 > 0:02:33So what we know is what the offence is, date, time and location,
0:02:33 > 0:02:36and the fact that they've fled their home country and come to the UK.
0:02:36 > 0:02:39That's why the extradition warrant has been issued,
0:02:39 > 0:02:41so we can get them back to their country
0:02:41 > 0:02:42to serve their prison sentence.
0:02:42 > 0:02:46They're on their way to Karol Michalski's last known address.
0:02:54 > 0:02:56It's a shared house with several tenants,
0:02:56 > 0:02:59so the drug dealer could be behind any door.
0:03:04 > 0:03:06Karol?
0:03:06 > 0:03:08Hello, sir, you all right?
0:03:08 > 0:03:10Danny checks upstairs.
0:03:10 > 0:03:12- Are you Polish?- Polish.
0:03:12 > 0:03:13OK.
0:03:13 > 0:03:18Do you, um... Do you know a guy called Karol Michalski?
0:03:19 > 0:03:22- Lives here.- No.
0:03:22 > 0:03:27Neither the man upstairs, nor the one downstairs, is Karol Michalski.
0:03:29 > 0:03:33I spoke to the people that were currently living at that flat.
0:03:33 > 0:03:36They said they'd never heard of this guy.
0:03:36 > 0:03:38But then Danny spots evidence
0:03:38 > 0:03:40Michalski has been living here recently.
0:03:40 > 0:03:42There's letters to this premises.
0:03:42 > 0:03:46It's obviously communal flats, four flats in here,
0:03:46 > 0:03:49so there's obviously communal post. But there's...
0:03:49 > 0:03:52letters addressed to this gentleman that we're interested in.
0:03:52 > 0:03:56It looks fairly official stuff, so he has at some point resided here.
0:03:56 > 0:04:00But he's obviously not here at the moment, so we'll move on.
0:04:02 > 0:04:04But the officers aren't giving up.
0:04:04 > 0:04:06Danny puts in a call to the landlord
0:04:06 > 0:04:10to see if he knows anything about his former tenant's whereabouts.
0:04:10 > 0:04:12There's good news.
0:04:12 > 0:04:14- The landlord said he's moved in two doors down.- OK.
0:04:14 > 0:04:17The landlord thinks Michalski could be living in one of two houses
0:04:17 > 0:04:20further down the same street.
0:04:20 > 0:04:22Karol, come on down.
0:04:22 > 0:04:25The only question is, which one?
0:04:25 > 0:04:26OK, back's secure.
0:04:29 > 0:04:32Knocking at house one, there's no answer.
0:04:37 > 0:04:38Knocking at house two...
0:04:41 > 0:04:43..the same lack of response.
0:04:44 > 0:04:47Local residents are keen to help the police.
0:04:49 > 0:04:53The team are lead to believe Michalski lives in the second house.
0:05:00 > 0:05:02If the information that we've got is correct,
0:05:02 > 0:05:05it's probably this is the house this gentleman's living at.
0:05:05 > 0:05:07We're just trying to gain access at the moment.
0:05:07 > 0:05:10That's why he's probably moved down, it's a bigger house, isn't it?
0:05:10 > 0:05:12The light's on upstairs. We just can't get in.
0:05:12 > 0:05:15We need to get access to the building.
0:05:19 > 0:05:22People are living here, because there's lights on at the premises.
0:05:22 > 0:05:25Looking through the windows, you can see food in the kitchen.
0:05:25 > 0:05:27If he is in there, he's hiding from us now
0:05:27 > 0:05:28because he knows that we're here now,
0:05:28 > 0:05:32so we're not leaving here until we've got in here.
0:05:32 > 0:05:35This address has a different landlord.
0:05:35 > 0:05:37Carl manages to get him on the phone,
0:05:37 > 0:05:41and he confirms Karol Michalski does live here,
0:05:41 > 0:05:44but is likely to be at work at the moment.
0:05:44 > 0:05:45We've got a business address for him.
0:05:45 > 0:05:47Let's go to the address first.
0:05:49 > 0:05:54With a new lead to follow, the team are determined to find their man.
0:05:54 > 0:05:58They're convinced they'll intercept Michalski at his place of work.
0:06:06 > 0:06:08Seven years ago,
0:06:08 > 0:06:11two men dominated the world of organised crime on Merseyside.
0:06:14 > 0:06:18Kirk Bradley and Tony Downes described themselves
0:06:18 > 0:06:19as "blood brothers".
0:06:20 > 0:06:24Together, they led a gang running a campaign of terror.
0:06:26 > 0:06:30These two individuals were really dangerous.
0:06:30 > 0:06:32They had a long history of violence.
0:06:34 > 0:06:37The pair kept their own hands clean,
0:06:37 > 0:06:40ordering others to carry out shootings, kidnappings,
0:06:40 > 0:06:42and hand grenade attacks,
0:06:42 > 0:06:46mainly against their underworld rivals in Merseyside.
0:06:47 > 0:06:50So on one occasion, there'd been a dispute
0:06:50 > 0:06:53several weeks earlier within the city centre, within Liverpool,
0:06:53 > 0:06:56and that resulted in one of those individuals involved in that dispute
0:06:56 > 0:07:01being kidnapped, placed into a van, driven to a wooded area,
0:07:01 > 0:07:04where he was abandoned, having been shot in the leg.
0:07:04 > 0:07:08That is just an example of the levels that these people go to.
0:07:09 > 0:07:14Incredibly, throughout this reign of terror, Tony Downes was in prison,
0:07:14 > 0:07:19serving a seven-year stretch for a series of raids on cash machines.
0:07:20 > 0:07:24From his cell, he masterminded the gang's criminal activity,
0:07:24 > 0:07:28making thousands of calls using smuggled mobile phones.
0:07:30 > 0:07:34He coordinated all of these attacks through use of his mobile phone,
0:07:34 > 0:07:37so that is people being shot, houses being shot,
0:07:37 > 0:07:39and hand grenades being thrown through people's houses.
0:07:39 > 0:07:43That from the prison cell, where he's sat with a mobile phone.
0:07:44 > 0:07:48But once Downes was arrested, both he and Kirk Bradley
0:07:48 > 0:07:52were eventually sent for trial in May 2011.
0:07:53 > 0:07:5711 weeks into the court case, they staged a daring escape -
0:07:57 > 0:08:00again planned by Downes from his prison cell.
0:08:03 > 0:08:08On the 18th of July, their prison van was making its way
0:08:08 > 0:08:10from Manchester to Liverpool Crown Court.
0:08:10 > 0:08:14A gang of masked men, armed with a sledgehammer and a gun,
0:08:14 > 0:08:15were lying in wait.
0:08:16 > 0:08:19They smashed the windows of the driver's door,
0:08:19 > 0:08:22demanded that the driver open the rear of the vehicle,
0:08:22 > 0:08:24which he did, under duress.
0:08:24 > 0:08:27A firearm was brandished at that driver.
0:08:27 > 0:08:31Once inside the vehicle, the inner cells were opened,
0:08:31 > 0:08:34where Bradley and Downes were located,
0:08:34 > 0:08:36and then both males were taken off the vehicle.
0:08:36 > 0:08:42The getaway car was soon found, but Bradley and Downes had vanished.
0:08:42 > 0:08:45The dangerous fugitives were on the run.
0:08:48 > 0:08:52They had shown absolute disregard for the safety of others on the road
0:08:52 > 0:08:54whilst they were being broken out.
0:08:54 > 0:08:56The fact they then went on the run straight away...
0:08:56 > 0:08:57You know, it had been pre-planned,
0:08:57 > 0:09:00they had a huge network of criminals around them,
0:09:00 > 0:09:03and the fact that someone had taken the time, risk
0:09:03 > 0:09:06to put themselves in the situation of breaking them out
0:09:06 > 0:09:09shows that, actually, the criminal fraternity
0:09:09 > 0:09:12were very fearful of them, and held them in very high regard
0:09:12 > 0:09:14that such effort was put to break them out.
0:09:14 > 0:09:17A major manhunt began.
0:09:20 > 0:09:24They were now two of the UK's most wanted.
0:09:33 > 0:09:34In West Yorkshire,
0:09:34 > 0:09:38searching out foreign criminals wanted by their home countries
0:09:38 > 0:09:40is a priority for the police.
0:09:41 > 0:09:44But finding them is a tough job.
0:09:44 > 0:09:48On the late shift are officers Dave Lockwood and Tom Allen.
0:09:48 > 0:09:53They've got a long list of fugitives to search out tonight.
0:09:54 > 0:10:00First up is a Polish man wanted for driving while disqualified.
0:10:00 > 0:10:04Their search has led them to this street on the other side of Leeds.
0:10:04 > 0:10:05Sounds empty.
0:10:05 > 0:10:07While Dave heads for the front door,
0:10:07 > 0:10:11Tom makes his way round the back to block any exits.
0:10:11 > 0:10:14It's the police, open the door!
0:10:14 > 0:10:16There's a duvet on the floor.
0:10:16 > 0:10:18It looks like they were just sleeping on a rough duvet.
0:10:18 > 0:10:21I'm getting a strong smell of cannabis at the front.
0:10:21 > 0:10:25As he approaches the door, Dave's suspicions are raised.
0:10:27 > 0:10:30Open the door! Or force will be used to gain entry!
0:10:32 > 0:10:33This is your last warning.
0:10:37 > 0:10:40While Dave shouts through the letterbox,
0:10:40 > 0:10:43Tom manages to get into the house through the back door.
0:10:43 > 0:10:44Yeah, I thought so.
0:10:47 > 0:10:50Dave runs around the back to find a man hiding in the kitchen.
0:10:52 > 0:10:53What are you doing?
0:10:54 > 0:10:58What are you doing? Put your hands out.
0:11:03 > 0:11:07- What have we got, a cannabis grower, Tom?- Yeah.- Right.
0:11:07 > 0:11:09You're under arrest for cultivating cannabis. OK?
0:11:09 > 0:11:11You don't have to say anything,
0:11:11 > 0:11:13but it may harm your defence if you don't mention when questioned
0:11:13 > 0:11:15something which you later rely on in court.
0:11:15 > 0:11:17Anything you do say may be given in evidence.
0:11:17 > 0:11:20They may not have found the man they have a warrant for,
0:11:20 > 0:11:23but they've uncovered some highly illegal activity.
0:11:23 > 0:11:27There's an old adage that you don't know what's behind the door
0:11:27 > 0:11:31until you go through it. So officers went in good faith seeking a person
0:11:31 > 0:11:33who was wanted, and came across a cannabis farm
0:11:33 > 0:11:35We're expecting a 47-year-old Polish male
0:11:35 > 0:11:38- wanted for disqualified driving. - He's not here.
0:11:38 > 0:11:42And here we are suddenly dealing with something totally different.
0:11:42 > 0:11:43- Is it all clear?- Yeah.
0:11:44 > 0:11:46The whole house has been converted
0:11:46 > 0:11:49into an illegal cannabis-growing factory.
0:11:49 > 0:11:54You've got a full room here, set up with maturing plants.
0:11:54 > 0:11:57Left-hand side as you come up the stairs,
0:11:57 > 0:12:01it's clearly plants that have been grown and cut for...
0:12:01 > 0:12:06And cultivated into actual product to be sold on the street.
0:12:06 > 0:12:10And then the right-hand side, again,
0:12:10 > 0:12:13a further full set-up of maturing plants.
0:12:13 > 0:12:16Criminals associate with other criminals,
0:12:16 > 0:12:19so just because you don't find the person you're looking for,
0:12:19 > 0:12:21you may well find somebody else
0:12:21 > 0:12:26who's wanted for something totally unconnected. Or, like this...
0:12:26 > 0:12:30it's just someone totally unrelated, no connection.
0:12:30 > 0:12:34Well, on face value, no connection to the male we're looking for.
0:12:34 > 0:12:39And they might consider themselves unlucky that we've come here tonight
0:12:39 > 0:12:42looking for somebody else, and we've stumbled upon this.
0:12:42 > 0:12:47Though these weren't the fugitives the officers were looking for,
0:12:47 > 0:12:52the night has ended with the seizure of 385 cannabis plants
0:12:52 > 0:12:56and the arrest of two illegal immigrants.
0:13:06 > 0:13:11In July 2011, two vicious criminals from Liverpool,
0:13:11 > 0:13:15Kirk Bradley and Anthony Downes, were 11 weeks into their trial
0:13:15 > 0:13:18when they staged an audacious escape from a prison van.
0:13:20 > 0:13:25Across Europe, a manhunt began, and the public were asked for help.
0:13:26 > 0:13:29Now, police urgently need to trace these two.
0:13:29 > 0:13:32This is Kirk Trevor Bradley, and Anthony Tony Downes.
0:13:32 > 0:13:35They escaped from a prison van in July.
0:13:35 > 0:13:38We started to look at alerting the airports, seaports,
0:13:38 > 0:13:40because we were under the impression
0:13:40 > 0:13:42that they may well look to leave the country.
0:13:44 > 0:13:46When major criminals go on the run,
0:13:46 > 0:13:50it's the National Crime Agency who coordinate the search.
0:13:51 > 0:13:54Back in 2011, it was their predecessor,
0:13:54 > 0:13:57the Serious Organised Crime Agency.
0:13:57 > 0:14:01They knew that searching for the pair would be difficult.
0:14:01 > 0:14:03We knew that there would be certain pieces of intelligence
0:14:03 > 0:14:07that were overlapping, so a piece of intelligence around Downes
0:14:07 > 0:14:08might also have applied to Bradley,
0:14:08 > 0:14:11so it made it harder in that we had to run the cases together,
0:14:11 > 0:14:14we had to cross-reference everything that we had to make sure
0:14:14 > 0:14:16that there wasn't anything that we missed,
0:14:16 > 0:14:19to make sure that we weren't led down the wrong path.
0:14:21 > 0:14:25Early intelligence suggested that the pair were hiding out in Spain,
0:14:25 > 0:14:27but they were still on the move.
0:14:28 > 0:14:31We had an inkling that they might have moved across from Spain.
0:14:31 > 0:14:33We started to focus our efforts on Amsterdam.
0:14:33 > 0:14:35We had some really good intelligence around associates,
0:14:35 > 0:14:38around people perhaps travelling out to see them.
0:14:38 > 0:14:40We built up a really good pattern,
0:14:40 > 0:14:42which corroborated what we already thought.
0:14:42 > 0:14:43So we had a pretty good idea
0:14:43 > 0:14:46of where they were in the Netherlands by that point.
0:14:48 > 0:14:5126-year-old Bradley was already known to the authorities,
0:14:51 > 0:14:54having previously been arrested for gun crimes.
0:14:55 > 0:14:58Police made a public appeal in the Netherlands
0:14:58 > 0:15:00to put pressure on the wanted men.
0:15:00 > 0:15:02We tried to make that a hostile area for them,
0:15:02 > 0:15:06again to increase their notoriety in those areas,
0:15:06 > 0:15:08to prevent movement and to generate intelligence
0:15:08 > 0:15:10to support the investigation.
0:15:11 > 0:15:16Then, in March 2012, almost a year after their escape,
0:15:16 > 0:15:19Tony Downes was finally spotted,
0:15:19 > 0:15:23checking into a holiday park in the south of the Netherlands.
0:15:23 > 0:15:24There was a piece of intelligence
0:15:24 > 0:15:27that a male fitting Downes's description
0:15:27 > 0:15:30was in the area of Zeeland,
0:15:30 > 0:15:34and the Dutch police took that intelligence, responded to it,
0:15:34 > 0:15:36and found Downes.
0:15:38 > 0:15:42He was living a very comfortable lifestyle.
0:15:42 > 0:15:46He was moving between holiday properties,
0:15:46 > 0:15:50he was there with his partner, and I think the fact that he's found
0:15:50 > 0:15:53with a loaded firearm in the back of the car,
0:15:53 > 0:15:56Dutch authorities said he was reaching towards that firearm
0:15:56 > 0:15:58at the time that they took some action against him.
0:16:00 > 0:16:04Armed and dangerous, Downes was now off the streets.
0:16:04 > 0:16:07By this time, he had already been sentenced
0:16:07 > 0:16:09in his absence to life in prison.
0:16:09 > 0:16:12As he was extradited back to the UK,
0:16:12 > 0:16:16police began looking at whether the information they had found on him
0:16:16 > 0:16:18could lead them to Bradley.
0:16:18 > 0:16:20We obviously had Downes back,
0:16:20 > 0:16:24and also mobile phones gave us opportunities
0:16:24 > 0:16:28around identifying numbers for Kirk Bradley also.
0:16:29 > 0:16:33I strongly believe that Kirk Bradley will have been well aware
0:16:33 > 0:16:36very, very quickly of the arrest of Tony Downes.
0:16:37 > 0:16:39I'm surmising, but I would have thought
0:16:39 > 0:16:42that would have caused him some concern.
0:16:42 > 0:16:46The new information gleaned from his partner in crime's phones
0:16:46 > 0:16:49meant that Liverpool gangster Kirk Bradley
0:16:49 > 0:16:51was now much more vulnerable.
0:16:51 > 0:16:54We knew that we'd got one half of the duo,
0:16:54 > 0:16:55but it was really useful as well
0:16:55 > 0:16:58because it meant that Bradley would be far more paranoid,
0:16:58 > 0:17:01he would be sure that we were looking for him.
0:17:01 > 0:17:04It seemed Bradley's options were running out.
0:17:04 > 0:17:07After nine months on the run, the net was closing in.
0:17:14 > 0:17:17Back in Redditch, Worcestershire,
0:17:17 > 0:17:20West Mercia Police are attempting to track down
0:17:20 > 0:17:23Polish fugitive Karol Michalski.
0:17:23 > 0:17:26He's been found guilty of a long list of metal theft
0:17:26 > 0:17:29and drug dealing offences in Poland,
0:17:29 > 0:17:32and sentenced to a total of 45 years in prison.
0:17:34 > 0:17:38He's avoiding jail time by hiding out in the UK.
0:17:38 > 0:17:41But finding him was proving difficult.
0:17:41 > 0:17:44The team have already visited several addresses with no success.
0:17:46 > 0:17:48The intelligence that we may receive one week,
0:17:48 > 0:17:51that this fella is working in X place,
0:17:51 > 0:17:54that can take some weeks to come through to us,
0:17:54 > 0:17:57and by the time we get out there to try to substantiate it
0:17:57 > 0:18:00and try to execute any warrants,
0:18:00 > 0:18:03that person can already have moved on.
0:18:03 > 0:18:04Continuing the search,
0:18:04 > 0:18:09officers Matt Britton and Jim Alcock are acting on a tip-off
0:18:09 > 0:18:11that he's working at this warehouse.
0:18:11 > 0:18:13The plot sickens.
0:18:13 > 0:18:16Yeah, we... He does work there, I think.
0:18:16 > 0:18:19He should have turned up yesterday, but he didn't.
0:18:19 > 0:18:22So Matt and Jim go back to the house
0:18:22 > 0:18:24Michalski's supposed to be living in.
0:18:24 > 0:18:29When they were here previously, there was no answer at the door.
0:18:43 > 0:18:45- Hello.- Hiya.- Police.
0:18:45 > 0:18:46- Can we come in for a moment?- Yeah.
0:18:48 > 0:18:50Do you know anyone called Karol?
0:18:50 > 0:18:51- Karol?- Yeah, Karol.
0:18:51 > 0:18:54Ah, he's not at home, he's at job now.
0:18:54 > 0:18:55He's at a job now, is he?
0:18:55 > 0:18:58Yeah, but I can show you his room, if you want.
0:18:58 > 0:19:01- Please, yeah. Which room is he?- Upstairs.
0:19:04 > 0:19:07- How long has he been at work for today?- Um...
0:19:09 > 0:19:11THEY KNOCK
0:19:14 > 0:19:15Karol?
0:19:15 > 0:19:18Frustratingly, Karol Michalski isn't here.
0:19:18 > 0:19:20But his stuff is.
0:19:20 > 0:19:23We've confirmed that the gentlemen we're after
0:19:23 > 0:19:24does reside in this room.
0:19:26 > 0:19:30We found other documentation with the gentleman's name on.
0:19:30 > 0:19:32Identity card, banker's card.
0:19:32 > 0:19:35So we're more than happy that this is his place of residence.
0:19:35 > 0:19:40Then Jim finds a clue as to where Michalski might be.
0:19:40 > 0:19:42That's interesting.
0:19:42 > 0:19:44A letter with details of a new job.
0:19:44 > 0:19:47We've got an address in Bromsgrove, Matt, so...
0:19:47 > 0:19:50I think we've probably missed him by about half-hour.
0:19:50 > 0:19:52- He's there until ten o'clock.- Yeah.
0:19:52 > 0:19:55So, with the paperwork we've managed to find in the address,
0:19:55 > 0:19:57we've got some telephone numbers on it,
0:19:57 > 0:19:59we've contacted those telephone numbers.
0:19:59 > 0:20:01One of them was a recruitment agency.
0:20:01 > 0:20:03I spoke with the recruitment agency,
0:20:03 > 0:20:06they've confirmed that the gentleman we're looking for
0:20:06 > 0:20:09is now employed by them, and he's at an address in Bromsgrove.
0:20:09 > 0:20:12We're going to make our way there now, see if we can detain him.
0:20:14 > 0:20:17The trail leads to a second packing warehouse.
0:20:21 > 0:20:23It's an induction day for new staff,
0:20:23 > 0:20:25but after a quick search of the group,
0:20:25 > 0:20:28there's still no sign of Michalski.
0:20:28 > 0:20:31We've turned up at his place of work, where he's working today,
0:20:31 > 0:20:35and the staff there have told us that he's just left 15 minutes ago,
0:20:35 > 0:20:38so we've only just missed him.
0:20:38 > 0:20:41He walked out the factory as we were probably driving up the road,
0:20:41 > 0:20:43got onto the bus and headed back to his home address,
0:20:43 > 0:20:46and we had literally missed him by a couple of minutes.
0:20:46 > 0:20:48That was quite frustrating, yes.
0:20:50 > 0:20:52Now they are on their way to intercept him
0:20:52 > 0:20:53before he has a chance to escape.
0:20:56 > 0:21:00Karol Michalski is believed to be upstairs.
0:21:00 > 0:21:02Matt and Jim go to make the arrest.
0:21:02 > 0:21:04Karol?
0:21:04 > 0:21:05Hello, Karol?
0:21:07 > 0:21:09- Right.- Should have a tattoo of a spider on his neck.
0:21:09 > 0:21:10Let's have a look at you a minute.
0:21:10 > 0:21:13'He had a tattoo of a spider, I believe it was,
0:21:13 > 0:21:14'on the right side of his neck.'
0:21:14 > 0:21:17And upon entering his room,
0:21:17 > 0:21:19I could see the right side of his neck straight away,
0:21:19 > 0:21:22and I thought, "Yes, right, got him, this is our man."
0:21:22 > 0:21:24I was immediately sure he was who he was.
0:21:24 > 0:21:26Right, Karol...
0:21:26 > 0:21:29you are under arrest under the Extradition Act of 2003.
0:21:29 > 0:21:31You do not have to say anything.
0:21:31 > 0:21:33Anything you do say may be given in evidence.
0:21:33 > 0:21:35Because you're under arrest, mate,
0:21:35 > 0:21:38we're going to put the handcuffs on you. OK?
0:21:38 > 0:21:41Not too tight, are they?
0:21:41 > 0:21:43- Er, no.- Right.
0:21:43 > 0:21:46Right, Karol, we're just going to walk you downstairs.
0:21:46 > 0:21:48We're going to take you into the police car.
0:21:52 > 0:21:54- LADDER BANGS - Oh. Wrecking the place.
0:21:57 > 0:21:59- What you done, kid?- Your car. - Yeah, yeah.
0:22:00 > 0:22:03- This car over here, mate.- In there.
0:22:03 > 0:22:04Stick yourself in there, mate.
0:22:07 > 0:22:08In the middle?
0:22:08 > 0:22:10Actually, it's quite a feeling of job well done,
0:22:10 > 0:22:12quite a bit of satisfaction.
0:22:12 > 0:22:14Inside, you're quietly saying, "Yes, got him!"
0:22:14 > 0:22:17Tonight, Michalski will be taken to London.
0:22:17 > 0:22:21In the morning, Poland's request to extradite the man
0:22:21 > 0:22:23with many crimes to answer for
0:22:23 > 0:22:26will be heard at Westminster Magistrates' Court.
0:22:35 > 0:22:40In July 2011, Kirk Bradley and Tony Downes,
0:22:40 > 0:22:44two 26-year-olds who described themselves as "blood brothers",
0:22:44 > 0:22:46were on their way to court.
0:22:46 > 0:22:48In the previous two years,
0:22:48 > 0:22:51the pair were responsible for multiple shootings
0:22:51 > 0:22:53and kidnappings across Merseyside.
0:22:56 > 0:22:58By being broken out of a prison van,
0:22:58 > 0:23:01it showed how willing they were to do anything to escape
0:23:01 > 0:23:04and how willing they were to do anything
0:23:04 > 0:23:07in order to continue their criminal activities.
0:23:07 > 0:23:09So for us, it was a priority to get them back.
0:23:09 > 0:23:14After eight months on the run, Downes was caught by Dutch police
0:23:14 > 0:23:18as he and his girlfriend checked into this holiday park.
0:23:19 > 0:23:22But in Amsterdam, Inspector Remco van Huys
0:23:22 > 0:23:27was still searching for his partner in crime, Kirk Bradley.
0:23:27 > 0:23:31Information found on Downes' phone helped him narrow the search.
0:23:32 > 0:23:36Police also knew that several members of Bradley's family
0:23:36 > 0:23:38were living in the city.
0:23:38 > 0:23:42Bradley's uncle was already known to the police.
0:23:42 > 0:23:45Soon, officers picked up on a series of calls he made
0:23:45 > 0:23:49to his nephew's number - using an interesting nickname.
0:23:49 > 0:23:52They called him by his nickname, which was "Little One",
0:23:52 > 0:23:56which English or British authorities
0:23:56 > 0:23:58said might be the nickname of Mr Kirk Bradley,
0:23:58 > 0:24:01the one we were looking for.
0:24:01 > 0:24:05Remco and his team weren't just looking at the Bradley family,
0:24:05 > 0:24:08but also those who worked for them.
0:24:08 > 0:24:11And sure enough, a woman who cleaned for the Bradleys
0:24:11 > 0:24:15seemed to have a new customer in the south-east of the city.
0:24:15 > 0:24:19She became a point of interest for us into the investigation,
0:24:19 > 0:24:24and after a few observations, we saw she was also going to this area.
0:24:24 > 0:24:26We didn't know exactly which building,
0:24:26 > 0:24:29but we knew she was doing something here.
0:24:29 > 0:24:32A surveillance team began watching the apartment block
0:24:32 > 0:24:34in Bijlmer in south-east Amsterdam.
0:24:36 > 0:24:40We made observations around the house, but we didn't see anything.
0:24:40 > 0:24:43He was not going out at all.
0:24:45 > 0:24:50Police still needed to be sure that the man hiding out was Kirk Bradley.
0:24:50 > 0:24:52Again, it was his phone that provided the evidence,
0:24:52 > 0:24:55and pinpointed his exact location.
0:24:56 > 0:24:58There was a lot of tension on this investigation,
0:24:58 > 0:25:01because the pressure was very high to arrest Kirk Bradley.
0:25:03 > 0:25:06It took a long time to find his house,
0:25:06 > 0:25:09but as soon as we discovered that the phone was in the house,
0:25:09 > 0:25:12it was only a matter of, I think, two days.
0:25:13 > 0:25:17Merseyside Police flew to Amsterdam to assist with the arrest.
0:25:18 > 0:25:20I briefed the Dutch authorities
0:25:20 > 0:25:23regarding the danger that Bradley posed,
0:25:23 > 0:25:25the violence that Bradley may offer up.
0:25:25 > 0:25:28The blinds of that apartment were all closed and shut up,
0:25:28 > 0:25:30which made it a little bit more difficult and intense
0:25:30 > 0:25:33when we were at the final stages before going in through the door.
0:25:33 > 0:25:36It was about ten o'clock in the night
0:25:36 > 0:25:39when our technical department gave us information
0:25:39 > 0:25:43that they exactly knew where the telephone was,
0:25:43 > 0:25:46which together with all the extra pieces of the investigation
0:25:46 > 0:25:49was good enough for us to make the arrest.
0:25:49 > 0:25:52You can never be certain until you see him there,
0:25:52 > 0:25:54you have hands on and he's arrested,
0:25:54 > 0:25:56that he's actually going to be there.
0:25:56 > 0:26:00At around midnight, the armed police were ready to strike.
0:26:00 > 0:26:04The raid team started their raid on the house.
0:26:05 > 0:26:08They arrested Mr Bradley, he was sitting on the couch.
0:26:08 > 0:26:09It was a great evening,
0:26:09 > 0:26:12and I remember that we were cheering when we had him, yes.
0:26:12 > 0:26:15And the English colleagues as well, they were very happy.
0:26:15 > 0:26:19Officers handcuffed and blindfolded their fugitive
0:26:19 > 0:26:22whilst they searched his flat.
0:26:22 > 0:26:26When Kirk Bradley was arrested within this apartment in Amsterdam,
0:26:26 > 0:26:28he was in possession of a huge amount
0:26:28 > 0:26:30of mobile phones and Sim cards.
0:26:30 > 0:26:36He had a false passport also, and a significant quantity of money also.
0:26:37 > 0:26:40A month later, police returned to the Netherlands
0:26:40 > 0:26:42to extradite both Bradley and Downes.
0:26:44 > 0:26:46Because of what they'd face trial for,
0:26:46 > 0:26:48none of the commercial carriers would take them
0:26:48 > 0:26:50and bring them back into the UK.
0:26:50 > 0:26:52And therefore we had to hire a private plane
0:26:52 > 0:26:54to bring them back into the UK.
0:26:54 > 0:26:58We do not want these individuals escaping for a second time.
0:26:59 > 0:27:02The men who had dominated gang crime in Liverpool
0:27:02 > 0:27:04were taken straight to prison -
0:27:04 > 0:27:08already sentenced to a minimum of 22 years each.
0:27:10 > 0:27:16This was a gang who ruled through fear and through intimidation,
0:27:16 > 0:27:20who exacted extreme levels of violence
0:27:20 > 0:27:22with firearms and hand grenades,
0:27:22 > 0:27:29and therefore to have them put into jail for a period of 22 years
0:27:29 > 0:27:31is a fantastic result.
0:27:35 > 0:27:38The cannabis seized in the house in West Yorkshire was calculated
0:27:38 > 0:27:43by police to have a street value approaching £500,000.
0:27:45 > 0:27:48One of the men was sent to prison for 16 months
0:27:48 > 0:27:51for being concerned in the production of a class B drug.
0:27:52 > 0:27:55But the second man was released without charge.
0:27:58 > 0:28:02The man convicted of multiple thefts and drug supply in Poland,
0:28:02 > 0:28:06Karol Michalski, was awarded bail by a judge
0:28:06 > 0:28:08at Westminster Magistrates' Court.
0:28:08 > 0:28:13He then absconded from his home in Redditch and is again on the run.
0:28:15 > 0:28:18And "blood brothers" Kirk Bradley and Anthony Downes
0:28:18 > 0:28:20were returned to the UK.
0:28:20 > 0:28:23Both had already been sentenced in their absence.
0:28:23 > 0:28:26They continue to be detained at Her Majesty's pleasure.