Episode 12 Fugitives

-Come on!

-On the run...

-Get back here!

-..and over here.

Hands out, now. Hands out.

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

-Give me your hands!

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

They know they're wanted.

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

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

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

escape justice.

From the sun-drenched Costas, where the villains seek a life of luxury.

To the busy streets of the Dutch capital,

where many continue their life of crime.

We join the crack teams hunting them down.

When you take the risk to come to Amsterdam as a criminal,

there's a high chance that we get you.

When it comes to justice, borders are no barrier.

You're under arrest under the Extradition Act 2003.

This is how the police take down the fugitives.

Police officer!

Both at home and abroad.

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

We will find you. We will bring you back.

On today's programme...

Get in!

Six years after a violent escape,

a chance encounter with a Dutch bobby brings a dangerous robber to justice.

I take the photo out of my pocket, then I know it for sure,

it's Cunningham.

It's home time for this convicted criminal.

-Listen, enough.

-But there's trouble when he decides he's got other plans.

-Stop fighting.

-He was extremely drunk,

his behaviour was extremely erratic.

No, no!

And the sickening trade in human lives.

The hunt for a prolific people trafficker leads investigators all

the way to western Africa.

The families, the victims,

were convinced there was a better life for them.

London's Metropolitan Police have the busiest extradition team in the UK.

More than 20 detectives scour the city for foreign fugitives who are

wanted across the world.

It's just before 6am,

and DS Pete Rance and PC Dave Salmon are out in east London.

So this morning we're...

out working on a European Arrest Warrant case, which is a French

request for a man called Abdullah Naeem.

Abdullah Naeem, a Pakistani national, is wanted by French police,

who suspect him of orchestrating a dramatic kidnap.

We've been given a lead by the French that Mr Naeem was living in

the east London area. We've done some further background work which suggests that

the person that they believe was living at a particular address in

east London has moved to another address in east London,

so we're at that address this morning to try and identify him

and see if we can arrest him on the European Arrest Warrant.

It's quite an affluent area, by the look of it.

We'll try and get inside the property and speak to the people that live

there and see if the person that we want's there.

The unit deals with people from all walks of life - rich, poor.

The warrants themselves are non-discriminatory.

Whether it be an affluent area or a deprived area,

it's our responsibility to go into those areas,

to find the people that are wanted.

KNOCK ON DOOR

Hi, good morning. I'm from the Metropolitan Police.

We need to speak to the people that live here...

'Abdullah Naeem's believed to be the leader of a kidnap plot that occurred'

in France, where two men kidnapped a man off the streets of Paris in

front of his wife and young child,

held him captive overnight for a ransom of 80,000 euros.

Naeem is at the address,

and despite the seriousness of the allegations,

it's a very straightforward arrest.

'He was cool, calm and collected.'

He's told us that he's a successful businessman in the UK,

he acknowledges that he's got a problem in France.

He intends to contest the extradition proceedings.

There, there, mate.

If you just sit that side and put your seatbelt on.

You jump in the back with him, Dave.

Once he's arrested, we're satisfied we've got the right person named on the warrant,

he'll be put before the court. To all intents and purposes, it's out of our hands,

it's a matter for the court to decide whether he's extradited back to France or not.

This man has come quietly.

But not everyone does.

And the day's not over yet.

-Say goodbye now.

-Coming up...

A Turkish man convicted of causing death by dangerous driving should be

-going home.

-Listen, enough.

But getting him on a plane is going to be a struggle.

You're fighting us, stop fighting.

Britain - an island nation connected to the world by sea,

air and a tunnel.

We welcome 36.5 million overseas visitors through our borders every year.

But hidden amongst the legitimate travellers,

a despicable trade is taking place.

People trafficking is a hideous crime.

It takes away people's choices, they become totally controlled.

They're subject to violence.

And it actually just destroys the whole fabric of the way human beings

should interact.

More than 3,000 children and adults were reportedly trafficked into

Britain in 2015.

Once here, many are forced to work in low-paid jobs or in the sex industry.

Hunting down the criminals behind this worldwide problem is a priority

for the Home Office and the National Crime Agency.

Over recent years, there's been an increase in human trafficking on a

global scale. And the involvement of well-organised,

sophisticated crime groups who are looking at human trafficking to make

maximum profit from crime.

From December 2014 onwards,

one gang made thousands of pounds by smuggling migrants from camps in

northern France into the UK.

Their sole purpose in this particular operation was to make as

much money as they could in the quickest amount of time.

The National Crime Agency conducted a joint investigation with the

French border police to tackle the gang and take down its leader.

Towards the end of 2015, you could say that you would see weekly,

sometimes biweekly, runs of migrants between northern France and the UK.

In January 2016, a van coming from Dieppe was stopped at Newhaven.

It looked empty, but behind a false wall,

officers found eight migrants crammed into a secret compartment.

Six hours in a compartment of that size,

I can't imagine what it would be like to be in that position for that

length of time. And it would also give you an idea of the type of

conditions these crime groups are prepared to put these people into to

line their own pockets, really.

Knowing how desperate the migrants were to reach Britain,

the smugglers were charging them four-figure sums.

Anywhere in the region of £3,000 up to £8,000 would be paid by migrants

for a passage, and that would guarantee getting them to a UK port.

And when French intelligence suggested that the trafficking ring

leader lived not in Dieppe, but in Derby, the NCA stepped up their investigation.

The wanted man was 34-year-old Iraqi Rekawt Kayani.

Quickly we established that he lived in a fairly, you know,

modest house in the middle of a, you know, fairly modest estate.

So we reported that back to the French.

And at that point, that's when they engaged with us further to go out

and actually arrest him.

It was time to act.

In an early-morning sweep,

a team of NCA officers led by Mick Pope arrived at Kayani's door.

Once inside, it was a straightforward arrest.

There was certainly no resistance from him.

He was obviously shocked and surprised that we'd turned up at his door at 8am.

And he was taken to the police station in Derby city centre.

And he said very, very little.

The next day, Mick escorted Kayani to Westminster Magistrates' Court.

A judge will eventually decide if he should be extradited to France.

When you think about people being put in concealments like we saw in

this case, it's only a matter of time before something happens to them,

you know, injury or death.

You know, we can't let that continue.

Coming up... The hunt for a woman who trafficked her teenage victims

into Europe leads British investigators all the way to western Africa.

You really wonder how one human being could exploit and treat another

human being in such a way and destroy their life.

In West Yorkshire,

PC Dave Lockwood is part of the team responsible for executing

European Arrest Warrants.

-Hello?

-The unit tracks down around 100 people per year who are wanted

for crimes committed in other countries.

Nice and still.

Today, they're looking for a man wanted in Lithuania.

The intelligence has flagged up an address for him.

Although they say we're pretty happy and they think he's at this address,

he is linked to other parts of the UK.

So I'm not going to get too excited thinking he's here.

Because this might be a web of enquiries.

-Do you want me to cover the back?

-You can do for now.

They check the front and back of the house.

-RADIO BEEPS

-I haven't gone into the yard, I'll see if I can get in.

-OVER RADIO:

-Yeah, they don't use the back door, it's locked.

-Oh.

-Yeah, there's a big fence up.

-But this time, the team are out of luck.

The house is empty.

-OVER RADIO:

-All right, mate, we'll come back in a bit.

-All right.

-But the Lithuanian man won't be forgotten.

Dave will continue to hunt for him for as long as it takes.

In the meantime, there are plenty more fugitives to go after.

Next on the list is Klaudia Stepien.

She faces two years in prison for theft and resisting arrest -

crimes she committed in Poland almost ten years ago.

Well, the picture's quite interesting.

That's the picture that the Polish have provided.

However, this lady is known to us here in West Yorkshire.

She was arrested last year for being drunk and disorderly.

So, they're two different pictures.

If you'd have given me that picture and I'd seen that woman...

Totally different, for me.

Because she's resisted arrest in the past, Dave calls in backup.

She's called Klaudia.

The circumstances were, she stole a bike with others.

Police have stopped her, she's tussled with them.

She is... I'll give you her age.

Born in '90, so she's not old.

-Right? Are you happy? Any questions?

-No.

-Let's go.

-Follow us in, Paul.

-All right.

-All right.

Dave arrives at the address he's been told she could be living at.

The other officers deploy round the back.

It's clear whoever lives here has children.

A little kid's bike.

HE KNOCKS ON DOOR

Go ahead.

The house is empty. There's no-one home.

Are you happy there's no-one in there?

-There's a number of kids that are meant to live there.

-It is lived-in.

You know, there's sandwiches prepared there,

it's like they've just gone out somewhere.

Yeah, they'll probably come back later.

If she's got a kid, she's not going to be home late, is she?

So, it's not successful, but it's a good sign.

She's living here. So at least we know we've got the right address,

just the wrong time.

Later that evening, Dave thinks he's spotted the suspect's car.

That's it. Well spotted.

But when he follows it back to the house,

will he find the woman he's looking for?

A staggering 75 million people a year travel through Heathrow,

making it one of the world's busiest airports.

But some passengers never pass through British border controls.

They merely transit through the airport on their way to other countries.

And it was in this zone, where no passports are checked,

that Nigerian-born Franca Asemota seized a lucrative opportunity.

She was living in Italy, where she gained residency,

and essentially, on a day-to-day basis, would have looked like an

everyday housewife. The reality was quite different.

In fact, 38-year-old Asemota was the linchpin in an illegal operation to

recruit and smuggle teenage girls out of Nigeria and into Europe -

a notorious people trafficking route.

This young woman fell victim to a similar gang.

The person said that I'm going there to work in a supermarket as a

salesgirl. So that is why I travelled.

When I got to Russia, it was really, really hell for me.

They said that I'm here to work for them as a prostitute.

Benin City in southern Nigeria is a known hub for traffickers.

This BBC crew spoke to one trafficker anonymously about how she

entraps girls and sends them abroad to work as prostitutes.

Sometimes we scout for them.

Sometimes they look for us.

At times I get 300-500 per person.

Many traffickers use witch doctors to instil fear into their victims

before they travel to Europe.

They make them swear that when they get there that they will pay,

and tell them if they do not pay, they will die.

Asemota used techniques like this to groom and control her victims,

selling them a false dream.

The families, the victims were convinced there was a better life for them.

From August 2011 onwards,

Asemota accompanied her victims on numerous flights from Nigeria via

Heathrow and on to mainland Europe.

On arrival in the UK, because they were in transit,

they would not pass through UK border controls.

So at this point, she would then issue new, false British passports

to the victims for entry into France.

It was French border officers who first became suspicious of the

trafficking plot.

We were from that point able to then unravel this sophisticated plot.

Investigators realised that Asemota had transported at least 40 women on

eight or more smuggling runs.

Five of the trafficked women were interviewed by specially-trained

officers from the National Crime Agency.

The accounts given by the victims were pivotal.

They only said, really, they're coming for a better life.

The excitement, the expectation of travelling to a new country.

It's only when they find themselves further down the line that they are

forced into the prostitution and the full extent of the situation they're

in becomes apparent to them.

Such a prolific trafficker had to be found at all costs.

It was first thought that Asemota was in Italy.

And as a result of developing information, along with Home Office,

it was suspected that Asemota had moved back to her home city of

Benin in Nigeria.

The NCA widened their search,

determined to use any means in their power to find her in her native Nigeria.

In March 2014,

we had great news and we'd a major breakthrough in our investigation.

And a positive sighting of Asemota had been confirmed.

Coming up... Asemota is cornered in Nigeria,

but she's half a world away from the fugitive hunters,

and determined to get off the hook.

Asemota wanted to exploit every opportunity and look at every loophole.

When law enforcement officers search for wanted men and women,

the first thing they look at is how they spend money and communicate

with others.

Ultimately, you leave a footprint somewhere in this day and age.

You're looking for the whole story of their life and the pattern of

their life.

We're getting into people's bank accounts, their tax records,

their spending habits - this is quite personal stuff.

It's getting harder to disappear.

If you're wanted, the chances are you'll be found.

What's more, fugitive hunters now have the capability to track criminals

and their money in real time around the world.

Bank accounts have a huge amount of information that is useful to

law enforcement. It can allow the police to look at your whereabouts

and your spending patterns,

which can be very useful for them in trying to figure out how to get to you.

But it's not just bank accounts.

Every pound we spend on everyday items leaves its own trace.

Supermarket loyalty cards, subscriber information for,

you know, TV and video channels, social media, tax records.

Anything and everything where you leave, particularly an electronic footprint,

then we can check that.

The day-to-day lives of friends and family also come under scrutiny.

Law enforcement might also be interested in that criminal's associates.

It might just be family members or friends,

but there may come a time when law enforcement takes an interest in

those bank accounts because that person is being used as a conduit for spending

on the part of the criminal who is on the run.

And for the most serious cases,

technology will now pinpoint a fugitive's exact location as they

make a phone call.

Going to the far end of the scale, if it warrants it, lifetime cell site analysis.

So we can tell where you are at any given second, like you see in films.

So, no secrets there, we see it in Hollywood every single day.

Just like in the movies,

a quick card payment or phone call can be all it takes to find a fugitive.

You're putting a big sign pointing to yourself.

And because of that, that will get reported,

and we do have lots of cases and evidence around this,

and we'll find you.

Over a decade ago,

the Met Police's Elite Flying Squad had to rely on more old-fashioned

policing methods to catch some of Britain's most hardened criminals.

In 2003, they arrested these two - Noel Cunningham and Clifford Hobbs -

as they tried to steal more than £1 million from a cash-in-transit van

in Brixton, south London.

I would describe them as old-school armed robbers.

They were very...

They were very well-organised, their planning was very good,

they knew exactly what they wanted to do.

Despite being captured, their scheming continued from behind bars.

As they were taken to court to stand trial,

a violent gang hijacked their prison van and helped them escape.

Open the hatches!

I was in my office, it was shortly after 9am,

I received a call from officers at Tower Bridge to explain to me two

Flying Squad prisoners had actually been involved in an escape

from the prison van on the way from prison to the court,

and that they were on the run at that time.

News of the UK's first armed prison van breakout hit the headlines.

At six o'clock, these are tonight's top stories...

On the run - three escape after an armed hijack of a prison van.

I must stress that obviously the people that are involved in the incident

today are very, very dangerous,

and we can only assume that Hobbs and Cunningham are going to be dangerous

as well, so please do not approach them, let the police do their job.

Detective Superintendent Mick Allen knew he had to move quickly.

It was quite clear that with the level of sophistication and planning

that went into this that they weren't going to stay in the country too long.

The Met turned to the public for help.

Now, give us a description of the two guys you're most interested in, Cunningham and Hobbs.

Bearing in mind this is about a year old, but we don't think they'll have changed a great deal.

-Cunningham is 43...

-He's the one on the left?

-He's the one on the left, with the glasses.

He's about 5'11" tall, quite an athletic build.

We think he's probably very similar to that now.

Whereas Hobbs is 44, 5'10" and rather larger.

And he certainly had a fair amount of weight on him,

even if he's tried to slim now, he's probably still got a bit of a beer

-gut on him.

-I think it would be very difficult for him to slim down,

he's probably about the same, if not bigger, now.

I think there was probably about four or five officers there,

we received quite a lot of information that they may actually not be

in the UK and they may be in other parts of other countries.

But despite the calls,

another year would pass with the Flying Squad no closer to catching them.

They believed Cunningham and Hobbs had split up and gone to ground

somewhere in Europe.

It was time to bring in the specialist agencies.

One of the good measures for us is to see where the first bits of

anonymous intelligence come through to suggest where someone is.

And in this case, it was Spain.

So we initially started focusing our attentions there.

Their instincts were right.

And in 2007, investigators, with the help of the Spanish police,

tracked Hobbs to Malaga, on Spain's Costa del Sol.

He was arrested and sent back to Britain to face justice.

When you receive information like that,

it's exceptionally gratifying because you know just how much hard work has

been put in by a lot of dedicated officers.

But Cunningham was still on the run.

Investigators were receiving reports

linking him to locations across the globe.

There were suggestions he was in Ireland, in Dubai,

even potentially in Jamaica.

So all those leads were followed up and investigated.

And then it's perhaps fair to say there was a little bit of a lull.

Then, in 2009,

new intelligence linked the armed robber to the Netherlands.

His image was circulated amongst the police in Amsterdam.

Now it was down to the Dutch police.

Would their officers be able to track down the criminal

who'd been on the run for six years?

Some fugitives living in Britain are wanted for crimes

which took place many years earlier.

And it can come as a shock when their past catches up with them.

That's it, well spotted.

In Leeds, PC Dave Lockwood is looking for a woman wanted in Poland

for crimes committed ten years ago.

Earlier in the day, he found her house empty.

But now he's spotted her car and followed her home.

We have to bear in mind, there's definitely one,

possibly two young children in the house.

So it's 9.15pm,

hopefully they'll have put them to bed

by the time we knock on the door and we can talk to the adults,

I don't want children in the way if we can help it.

The woman was convicted for theft and resisting arrest.

OK, are you happy with that?

As a precaution, Dave's called in support from local officers.

Right, OK. I'll just tuck down and you can tuck in behind us.

All right, cheers.

With the team in place, Dave approaches.

I don't want to knock too loud with the kids in there,

but at the same time, I'd like her to answer the door.

Hello, sorry for troubling you, it's the police.

-Are you OK?

-Yes, I'm fine.

Are we OK to come in and have a chat with you, please?

-For who?

-Well, I think it's yourself. What's your name, love?

-What's your name?

-Klaudia.

Klaudia, yeah, I need to come in and speak with you, please.

OK, do you want to put your kids to bed?

Hiya, are you OK?

We'll wait down here for you.

The police visit has unsettled the children.

-Is she OK?

-No, she's worried.

-She's worried?

-Yeah.

-OK.

Klaudia, did you say it was Klaudia?

-Yeah.

-What's your full name, please?

-Klaudia Stepien.

-And your date of birth?

2nd of February, '90.

Right, I've got some really bad news I think

that's going to surprise you and shock you.

-You're Polish, yes?

-Yes, I'm Polish.

Poland have issued an arrest warrant for yourself,

they want you arrested.

Is this something you know about?

No.

Right. They've issued a warrant for your arrest

because they want you to go back to Poland to sort a problem out.

Is your husband here? Do you speak English?

Yeah, I speak English.

I'm not going to do anything. Do you want to get the kids to bed?

Get the kids sorted out, and then we'll talk, OK?

I'm trying to deal with this,

the kid's upset, she's trying to deal with the kid

and I don't want to... I don't want to interfere with her.

Sit down in one area for us.

This visit from the police has come as a shock for the family.

Is your daughter OK? Is she in bed OK now?

Yes, we were watching TV.

Right, I want to make sure she's all right

-so we don't have to worry about her, OK? Let's take a seat.

-Yes.

-Right.

The Polish authorities have issued a warrant for your arrest, OK?

There is no bother here,

there's nothing that's happened in the UK that the police here

are wanting to talk to you about.

But because Poland has issued this warrant,

it's been authorised here in the UK,

so I've received the paperwork and been asked to come and arrest you.

Do you know about this problem?

Has it come as a shock,

or did you know there was something going on in Poland?

No, that is a long time ago, yes.

So that is why it is a shock, really.

The Polish authorities are wanting you to serve a custodial sentence in

Poland for this offence, even though it was nine years ago.

That is what they want. I don't know what's going to happen,

because it's my job to find you and send you to court.

Have you calmed down now, do you understand?

Have you got any questions you want to ask us?

Are you all right looking after the daughter?

Is there anything for work?

Yeah, he's my husband.

Yeah, and I apologise for the timing

and I apologise that it has happened,

I'm just doing the job. I know it's not ideal

because you've got a family.

Right, I'm arresting you on a European Arrest Warrant

for an offence of theft and resisting arrest,

which is what I've explained to you.

You do not have to say anything,

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

I deal with these a lot,

and I don't see any reason why you can't come home tomorrow

as long as you can satisfy your bail conditions, OK?

I know it's probably going to be a horrible night for you

and a horrible day, but you should be coming back home tomorrow.

OK? As long as you can sort it out with the court.

Dave makes sure the woman has an opportunity

to say goodbye to her children

before being taken into custody.

I knew it was going to be emotional, but you don't get used to it,

even after all this time. It's not nice sometimes, what we have to do.

But I can't pick and choose, can I? I've got to...

I've got to deal with the ones that I have to deal with.

-Are you OK now?

-Yeah.

-OK.

Watch your head.

OK, I'll see you when you get down there.

They'll be watching you from the other side, OK?

I'll let Elland Road know.

She's taken to the police station where she'll spend the night

before being taken to London in the morning,

where her case will be heard.

In London, DS Pete Rance has received an urgent call

from colleagues on the Met's extradition team.

All right, we'll go on a blue light there

and see if we can get him and get him out.

A fugitive whose extradition has already been ordered

is refusing to leave the country.

We've got notification from one of our team who's out at Heathrow

to oversee the extradition of a prisoner back to Turkey,

but the prisoner hasn't turned up.

He's on bail, he hasn't turned up.

The flight's due to leave in an hour and 15 minutes.

The man they are after has been convicted in Turkey.

He killed one pedestrian and injured another

riding a motorcycle whilst drunk.

But now he's refusing to go back to serve a sentence

of three years and three months.

The officer who's out at the airport has established contact

with this fella's wife,

who's told us that he's at the address

but he's saying that he's not willing to return to Turkey.

He is aware that she's speaking to the police on the phone.

This puts his wife in a potentially dangerous situation.

It's an emergency for us to get there to make sure

that she's safe and well as well as him.

They arrive at the address and make their way to the apartment.

Myself and two colleagues walked through,

and immediately saw Mehmet Ciftcioglu

sitting on a sofa in the front room of the property,

just in his underpants,

drinking alcohol from a glass.

You could smell booze on him straightaway,

so I knew that he'd been drinking heavily.

-All right, how are you?

-I'm OK, sir. Thank you.

You're supposed to be at the airport, you know that?

Ah, yes, sir.

You have to go to Turkey today, you have to go to Turkey today.

So we can slow things down and you can say goodbye to your wife...

-What, now?

-Yeah, today.

He was asking whether we intended

to pull him straight out of the address, and I said to him that...

As I say, he was in his underpants when we got there,

so it's difficult to force somebody into their clothes,

so you're trying to get their consent to get dressed,

but we managed to do that.

I said to him, "If you get dressed,

"you can have a half hour, you know,

"with your son to say goodbye to your son and your partner."

You need to have some respect for us now, OK?

I want you to get dressed,

and then you can have some time with your son.

If not, you will have to come with us, OK?

He was extremely drunk, his behaviour was extremely erratic.

One moment he was laughing,

one moment he was crying and picking up his small son,

who was another consideration, obviously.

We are going now. We have been here nearly two hours, OK?

So say goodbye now.

This is...

Listen, listen.

Enough, OK?

He was desperate not to return.

He faces a three-and-a-half-year sentence

for causing death by dangerous driving.

He is convicted of mowing down two people in Turkey when he was drunk.

Do you enjoy these ones?

-No, not at all.

-Far from it.

-Stop, stop.

The man is led away in handcuffs, but he won't go quietly.

It is a pain...

We get to the car.

It's your fault, you're fighting us, so stop fighting.

-Sorry?

-You're fighting us.

No, no!

He's kicking.

Finally, they get him into the car

and he's driven straight to the airport.

Mehmet Ciftcioglu, guilty of death by dangerous driving,

is on his way back to a Turkish prison.

In 2003, two audacious criminals, Noel Cunningham and Clifford Hobbs,

were on their way to court.

They were on trial for the attempted theft of over a million pounds.

But when their prison van was hijacked by armed men,

Hobbs and Cunningham escaped.

Instead of lying low, the pair fled abroad and went on the run.

Investigators launched a global manhunt,

and in 2007, Hobbs was arrested in Spain.

But Cunningham was nowhere to be found.

Then, six years later, in Amsterdam,

police arrested a man for petty shoplifting.

He was using a false name and passport.

Unfortunately, at that point, they hadn't realised who he was

or that he was wanted, and he'd been released.

They hadn't taken his fingerprints or anything like that

because it was just a street check, you know, it was very low level.

Although the shoplifter was released,

the British passport he was carrying at the time

was checked back in the UK and linked to Cunningham.

British police alerted their colleagues in the Netherlands.

The Dutch police then circulated his image amongst local officers,

local bobbies on the ground,

the ones that were going to be doing the street patrols.

And that's invaluable for us,

because that's eyes on the street 24/7.

To know that there's people actually out there

proactively looking for Cunningham,

that makes all the difference for us.

At the police station in Amstelveen, just outside the capital,

district agent Ferry den Edel was at his desk.

I was in the police station

when I was visited by two detectives from the quick response unit.

And they tell me that they are looking for Cunningham.

I got that picture,

and I make a copy of that, and I put it in my jacket.

And then about half an hour later, I go out to the shopping centre.

Ferry's local beat took him to an upmarket shopping precinct

in Amstelveen.

I walked from the brasserie, and then to the tapas there,

the BLVD cafe,

I heard a few guys talking English.

And I spotted Cunningham.

Amazingly, a mere 30 minutes after picking up the fugitive's mug shot,

this local bobby had chanced upon him.

And I take the photo of Cunningham out of my pocket, and I look again,

and then I know it for sure, it's Cunningham.

Cunningham obviously felt safe,

he felt that he was able to do that without any risk of being arrested.

Or at least that's what he thought.

Ferry made a call to the SWAT team,

and in minutes, the precinct was swarming with cops

and Cunningham was in cuffs.

This time he wasn't getting away.

It's very unique when you've got a picture,

and within half an hour, you've spotted the guy,

and two hours later, he was imprisoned.

He'd evaded elite teams of detectives for six years.

But Cunningham's arrest by a local patrolman

was more than just a lucky break.

It is lucky in the sense that that officer was there at the right time

to actually spot the individual.

But the work that goes into making sure they're aware of them,

and the work that goes into putting that person's face out there

isn't lucky at all.

And six years on from that dramatic escape from a prison van in London,

officers from the Flying Squad were finally able to close the case.

There quite clearly is a great deal of satisfaction

and a great deal of closure, I suspect,

because a lot of work has been put into that

by a lot of different officers over the years,

and it's something that we just won't let go, and so, yeah,

it's another chapter that's closed.

Back in 2014,

British and Nigerian investigators had managed to track down

prolific people-trafficker Franca Asemota.

She was exploiting Nigerian teenage girls,

smuggling them through Heathrow and into Europe,

bound for the sex trade.

But the 38-year-old had fled Europe

and was now hiding out in her native Nigeria.

In March, 2014, we had great news

that we'd had a major breakthrough in our investigation,

and a positive sighting of Asemota had been confirmed.

NCA officers tracked Asemota down.

And she was eventually arrested on money-laundering charges.

Investigators wanted her extradited to Britain, but she had other plans.

Asemota wanted to exploit every opportunity

and look at every loophole to avoid extradition.

But her efforts to evade justice were short-lived.

Everything she tried failed.

And that's when it's the most satisfying moment,

because once she's on that aircraft coming back to the UK,

she's in our custody, and we have complete control of the situation.

This time, there was no dodging immigration officials

when Asemota touched down at Heathrow in January, 2016.

From the moment she came off the plane,

there was an air of resignation.

And what was interesting is, no element of compassion,

no element of remorse.

As she was walking through the airport at Heathrow,

the reality set in.

I think for the first time over the 12-month period

that we'd identified her, that she'd been arrested,

held in custody in Nigeria,

I think she suddenly realised the game's up.

Strong evidence from five of her victims

gave officers hope that she would be locked up for a long time.

We do find that victims of human trafficking,

when they see the people that have been exploiting them,

and treating them in the way that they have done before court,

come across as confident, but extremely convincing witnesses.

We know the five victims are now safely settled in the UK

and living normal lives.

But can you ever really recover and repair the damage

that has been caused to those victims?

Her crime has no place in the 21st century.

Asemota had condemned scores of innocent teenage girls

to servitude far from home. Now her fate was sealed,

thanks to the tenacity of the fugitive hunters.

Had we not brought her to justice,

she would have been at liberty

to potentially continue trafficking other victims.

So that's the most satisfying part,

that it was the final end chapter to closing that organised crime group.

In August, 2016,

Franca Asemota was jailed for 22 years in a British prison -

one of the longest sentences ever to be handed down

for an organised immigration crime.

Two months later, Rekawt Kayani was extradited to France

to face charges of people-smuggling.

Abdullah Naeem,

who was accused of kidnapping a man on the streets of Paris,

was extradited back to France to face trial in January, 2017.

That same month,

Klaudia Stepien was sent back to Poland

to serve the rest of her sentence.

-Get in!

-And Noel Cunningham,

who was busted out of a prison van on the streets of London,

was caged for 18 years back in 2010.

His fellow fugitive, Clifford Hobbs,

pleaded guilty in court to conspiracy to rob

and escaping lawful custody.

He was jailed for life.