Episode 7 Fugitives


Episode 7

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Transcript


LineFromTo

-Come on!

-On the run...

-Get back here!

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..and over here.

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Hands out now. Hands out.

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When foreign criminals flee their home countries,

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many hide out in the UK.

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Give me your hands.

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

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They know they're wanted.

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

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

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Across Europe, there are hundreds of British criminals

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also trying to escape justice.

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From the sun-drenched Costas

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where the villains seek a life of luxury...

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to the busy streets of the Dutch capital

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where many continue their life of crime.

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We join the crack teams hunting them down.

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

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there's a high chance that we'll get you.

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When it comes to justice, borders are no barrier.

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You're under arrest under the Extradition Act 2003.

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

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Police officer.

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..both at home and abroad.

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

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We will find you.

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We will bring you back.

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On today's programme - on the run for seven years.

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How a man who made a dramatic escape

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from a British courtroom was found by fugitive hunters in Spain.

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They told me he was a crazy man, so if you find him,

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just be really careful with this guy.

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In Coventry...

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KNOCKING

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..it's time for this murderer to pack up and leave.

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Being dealt with for a murder in Poland

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and that's why we've been notified that the Home Office

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no longer wish him to be in the UK.

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And the Polish policeman on the beat in the UK,

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hunting for men on the run from his own country

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with the help of satellite TV.

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In London, the Metropolitan Police's extradition unit

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specialises in tracking down fugitives.

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

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Teams of detectives work round the clock hunting for foreign criminals

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hiding in the UK.

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It's a manhunt unit. We're looking at finding people

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rather than investigating the crimes.

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Come out. Keep your hands up.

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Keep your hands up.

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She knows you're waiting.

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Detective Sergeant Pete Rance is leading a team on an operation

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to clear up outstanding European Arrest Warrants in the capital.

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That one, I just see that

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as a straightforward approach to the address.

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We'll see if he's in.

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No country issues more of these than Poland.

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Last year, Polish arrest warrants accounted for more than half

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of all the work carried out by the extradition unit.

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The third one, we might have to have

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a little bit of a closer think about.

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When we get out there, we'll have another look at it.

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If these two are blown out, we'll have a think about this.

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To get through all these arrest warrants,

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Pete has drafted in two officers on loan

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from the Polish national police force.

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It's really helped. It gives us a fast time link

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back into Poland

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to check on intelligence,

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to come out with us operationally,

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to be in the background and listen to what some of these Polish guys

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and people are speaking to each other about and it's really,

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really been beneficial to the work of the unit.

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Right.

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-Everyone good to go?

-Yes.

-Smashing.

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It's just gone six in the morning and the team is out on the road.

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The first fugitive on this morning's list

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is a convicted drug dealer called Adrian Parada.

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The court has already ordered his extradition to Poland,

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but he's absconded before he could be removed from the UK.

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KNOCKING

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-DOG BARKING

-It's the police. Open the door.

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Keep the dog away.

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-Good morning.

-Morning.

-We're from the police.

-Yeah.

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Just need to establish who lives here.

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Pete and one of the Polish officers

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go in to talk to one of the women who lives here.

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She doesn't speak any English,

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but could be connected to the wanted man.

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'This is where they really come into their own, the Polish officers.

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'When you turn up at an address and very little English is spoken,'

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the ability to have somebody there, or the resource

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of having somebody there to tell you what is actually being said

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is extremely useful.

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The woman tells Polish officer Christoph Brodowicz

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that the fugitive did used to live here,

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but he's now moved on.

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Chris, you're probably best to give the update on this.

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We've searched the property, he's not in there.

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You can see the lady's happy for us to go in and look around.

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She had been in a relationship with him, but...

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-With new man.

-A new man.

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They've got a child.

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Five months...

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..old. So...

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What did she say around the last contact with Parada?

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It was just before the last arresting of him.

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After that they...

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-..broke?

-Split up.

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Split up, yes.

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-Split up, and she hasn't seen him since that time.

-OK.

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It's on to the next job - another Polish national.

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He's been found guilty of attempted car theft back home.

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There's no criminal convictions or history here in the UK.

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It's just...

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He's got a couple of convictions for car crime in Poland.

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A European Arrest Warrant has been issued and if he's here,

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he'll get nicked on the warrant.

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The residents of this house, it turns out,

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have been expecting the police,

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but for a completely different reason.

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Good morning, sir. From the police.

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Yeah. I call for police.

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-You called the police?

-Yeah.

-Why?

-Because someone...

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..er...break the... Someone knock my window.

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-Oh, you've been burgled?

-Yeah.

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-When, this morning, or...?

-Yeah, yeah.

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We're here for a different reason. We're not here for the burglary.

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I'm sorry that you've had that happen to you,

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but are you OK if we just go and knock on a door?

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It's a strange coincidence.

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Pete makes it clear he's not here to investigate the burglary

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and heads upstairs.

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Hello, sir. Sorry to trouble you. From the police.

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I just need to see your ID card, if that's OK?

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-What's your name?

-Maciej.

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-And your family name?

-Pilat.

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OK. Can I see your ID card, please, Maciej?

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Another bizarre coincidence.

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Although this man has the same name as the fugitive Pete's after,

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it's not the same person.

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This guy's called Maciej Pilat.

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That's my name.

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But he has a different date of birth, I think.

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-OK.

-So we think we have the wrong person, sir.

-OK.

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It's...a mistake. I'm really sorry to have troubled you.

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Thanks for your time. Take care.

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All right. We won't trouble you again.

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The intelligence we had was that a guy called Maciej Pilat

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was living in the loft room at the address.

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We've obviously been given consent to go in and knock on his door.

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Gone up there, he's answered the door willingly.

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It is Maciej Pilat, but it's a different Maciej Pilat.

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Apparently, Pilat is quite a common name in Poland

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and the guy we want is... You know, the photographs don't compare.

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It's obviously two completely different people.

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So we've said sorry to him for his trouble

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and we'll now move on to the next one.

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It's been a frustrating morning so far,

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but there's no time to hang around.

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Pete still has more fugitives to find and knows his best chance of

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catching them is with an early door knock, so there's no time to lose.

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This is Andrew Moran, a dangerous armed robber.

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After a dramatic escape from his own trial,

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he thought he could stay on the run forever.

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But seven years of determined policing at home and abroad

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led to a dramatic arrest,

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a lesson for all fugitives.

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People run, but increasingly with the use of modern technologies,

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there really isn't anywhere to hide any more, and we will get you.

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We'll find you. We'll bring you back.

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There is no hiding place.

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It all started on a May morning in 2005

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at an Asda store in Colne, Lancashire.

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Two men arrived in the car park on a motorbike

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and staged a violent robbery.

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Their target was this Royal Mail cash delivery van.

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They were armed with machetes, using them to attack one of the guards,

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injuring his arms and shoulders.

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They also threatened him with a gun.

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During the attack, he thought he was going to die.

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That he was either going to be shot or that the blows with the machete

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were going to kill him. The robbers threatened to kill him

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while they were demanding money from the back of the van

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and in order to get his colleague

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to pass the cash out, one told the other one just to shoot him.

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Fearing for his life, the guard handed over £25,000.

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The men sped away on their bike, but it was soon abandoned.

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We had a starting point then with the motorbike that had been found.

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DNA evidence on the bike led them to a known criminal whose phone records

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then revealed that the second robber was someone nicknamed Faggy,

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but detectives needed to know his real name.

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Nobody knew who Faggy was,

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which seemed really unusual from my point of view.

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If it's somebody that's attacking Royal Mail vans

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with guns and machetes, you would think it would be somebody

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that's come across the radar of the police somewhere

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and that somebody would know this person called Faggy.

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But at least they had his phone number

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and for 18 months, detectives monitored his calls.

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They began to suspect that the man behind the nickname

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was convicted criminal Andrew Moran.

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One frequently dialled number gave him away.

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We found a girl in the Manchester area

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that the phone rang all the time.

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She admitted that she was Andrew Moran's girlfriend.

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Andrew Moran was already well known to police elsewhere in the country.

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He'd been on the run for a number of years from Manchester,

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so our robbery that we wanted him for

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was added to the list of the other offences

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that he was already being sought for.

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The search went quiet until one day police happened to stop Moran

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on a Manchester street.

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He was carrying false details, but the officers were having none of it.

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Once they tried to arrest him, he punched the officer in the face,

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ran away, but luckily they managed to chase after him, caught him.

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It was news the Lancashire team had been waiting for.

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To find out that he'd finally been arrested

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was really, really exciting.

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It was sort of like feeling that you're coming towards

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the end of the, erm...

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To a successful conclusion for the investigation.

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But the officers' high hopes would soon be dashed.

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Seven weeks into his trial,

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the armed robber made a dramatic bid for freedom.

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It had taken police four years to get into court.

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How long would it take to track him down again?

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Every November, British police team up with the European forces

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to run a special operation targeting foreign offenders

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using the UK's transport links.

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What's great is the information and intelligence sharing.

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So if we stop a foreign driver in the UK today,

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we've got the whole range of countries that we can check their

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intelligence databases.

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The UK's central hub is in Birmingham where police,

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immigration and tax officers deal with queries.

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It might be something just as simple

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as are we able to get an image of the person

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so that that can be compared with the person that the officer

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stopped at the roadside.

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Or it might be that we need to know if they have any foreign convictions

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that obviously we can't just check with our systems in the UK.

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It's also about catching foreign criminals

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on the move around the country.

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Yeah, it is a live warrant.

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He is wanted for currency fraud in Czechoslovakia,

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so you can go ahead and arrest him.

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Away from the control centre,

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Sergeant Adam Jobson is one of the operations officers on the ground,

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tracking down men and women wanted by European police forces.

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You've seen someone go in, have you?

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Recently, it's been tough going

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and he's been unable to track down some of his targets.

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It sounds like he has spoken to you since you've been at this address.

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Now he's in Coventry and his latest job is to help local police

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catch a man who has a dangerous criminal past -

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Slawomir Mielczarek.

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He's been dealt with for a murder in Poland whereby a drunken night out

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he's been one of three people who got into a fight

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and they've ended up killing someone.

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Mielczarek served his time for the killing in Poland,

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but since coming over to the UK,

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he's been in trouble with the police again on a drugs charge.

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That's why we've done the checks with his own country

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and that's why we've been notified that the Home Office

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no longer wish him to be in the UK.

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Approaching from front and back,

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Adam and the other officers moved in on Mielczarek's last known address.

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Hello, it's the police.

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It's a lady at the door.

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Someone else.

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Hello, do you mind if we come in?

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-What?

-We're just looking for somebody. A gentleman.

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Mind if we come in? Is that OK?

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OK, does this gentleman live here?

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I think it was his wife who answered the door to us.

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I think she was shocked to see the police.

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They may not have known it was coming,

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but I think reality soon sets in.

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Hello.

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Is he here? The man?

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We're inside now, I believe he is going to be here.

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Mielczarek is in and it looks like he's trapped upstairs.

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INDISTINCT RADIO CHATTER

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Not yet, mate, if you just hang in there

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just in case he goes out the window or anything.

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Do you speak English?

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No, just Polish.

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OK, Polish. We'll get you an interpreter.

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At the moment, you're under arrest.

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They have sent multiple officers as Mielczarek has a history of violence

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and has been caught by surprise.

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I'm going to handcuff him.

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I don't want him walking down the stairs

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uncuffed in case he tries to make a bolt out of the door.

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Do you understand a little English?

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You are coming to the police station.

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You're all right. We're going to come down now.

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It's when the cuffs go on

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that the family realise the severity of the situation.

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I'm begging! I'm begging, no!

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I don't want you to come downstairs.

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Wait there one second.

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We are going to put some shoes and socks on now.

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Just come down the stairs.

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Yes, can you confirm the block is still in order to bring out the IPC?

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As we were leaving the address,

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family members were very upset because I think, as I say,

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the reality has set in,

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that there was a chance that this person would be deported.

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We'll explain at the station, OK?

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Sometimes you feel bad. It's never nice to break up families.

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But ultimately, this person was convicted for murder.

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To me that person is dangerous and I have no problem separating people

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like that who aren't fit to be in our public in the UK.

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Mielczarek is taken to Coventry police station

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so that police can double-check his identity.

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Once they've confirmed that this is the man

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who's already served six years in prison for murder,

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then his deportation back to Poland can go ahead.

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In March 2009,

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after four years on the run, armed robber Andrew Moran was on trial

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at Burnley Crown Court.

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Back in 2005,

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he and another man had attempted to rob a cash delivery van

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in a supermarket car park.

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It was a real painstaking trial.

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It lasted for seven weeks.

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Andrew Moran did give evidence in his own trial.

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He came across as being very arrogant.

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He argued with the prosecution barrister,

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kept calling him "mate" and it was very difficult for the barrister

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to cross-examine because of his attitude towards him.

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He did come across, as I say, very arrogant and cocky.

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But as the jury prepared to return their verdict,

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Moran leapt from the dock and escaped from court.

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Andrew Moran assaulted the Group4 guard,

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jumped over the dock barrier and ran from the court,

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pursued by staff and police officers

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and Group4 security guards from the court, but managed to evade capture.

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Moran disappeared.

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After four months of searching and desperate for information,

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Simon Cheyte appealed to the public.

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What information have you got as to say where he could be right now?

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That's Andrew Moran.

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He has got a lot of family,

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friends and connections in the Manchester-Salford area.

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It's entirely possible he is still knocking around there.

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Anybody who knows where he may be, please ring us.

0:18:560:18:58

The appeal yielded little information

0:18:580:19:01

and with no sightings of Moran in the UK,

0:19:010:19:04

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

0:19:040:19:08

It has agents who specialise in tracking fugitives down

0:19:080:19:11

wherever they are in the world.

0:19:110:19:14

When they go abroad and they go underground,

0:19:150:19:18

the only place that they can go to is amongst other crime groups

0:19:180:19:22

and therefore often their criminality

0:19:220:19:24

will start to rise and they will start

0:19:240:19:26

to get into more high-profile types of activity.

0:19:260:19:30

So we believed that he was still involved...

0:19:310:19:34

..committing offences,

0:19:350:19:36

but it was important that we then started to track him down.

0:19:360:19:39

Suspecting that he had fled the UK,

0:19:400:19:42

finding out how Moran was funding life on the run was a priority.

0:19:420:19:47

You walk down any high street within the UK

0:19:470:19:49

and there's money service bureaus,

0:19:490:19:51

so that's something we could look into.

0:19:510:19:52

And again the money needs to be collected at the other end.

0:19:520:19:55

Was Andrew Moran going to go in and give his passport with his full name

0:19:550:20:00

and address on it? He wasn't, no.

0:20:000:20:02

So that's where we had to do some clever, analytical stuff

0:20:020:20:05

to try and identify whether there were frequent collections

0:20:050:20:08

in frequent locations which would then indicate that there was

0:20:080:20:12

something perhaps untoward going on in a certain location.

0:20:120:20:15

Once again the focus fell on Moran's girlfriend,

0:20:160:20:20

a beautician called Gemma Javier.

0:20:200:20:23

A team of detectives in the north-west of England

0:20:240:20:26

had been keeping track of her all along.

0:20:260:20:29

Very quickly we were able to identify that his girlfriend

0:20:310:20:34

was travelling regularly to Spain,

0:20:340:20:36

various flights, various destinations,

0:20:360:20:39

travelling extensively on a very limited income.

0:20:390:20:42

That gave us some clues as to where Moran was hiding

0:20:420:20:44

and all that pointed towards Spain.

0:20:440:20:46

With more and more evidence emerging,

0:20:500:20:52

the NCA began working with the Spanish police

0:20:520:20:56

who have a unit dedicated to hunting out fugitives.

0:20:560:21:00

Inspector Olga Lizana headed up that team for five years.

0:21:000:21:04

They told me all that happened with him before in the UK

0:21:050:21:09

and the only thing they told me with this case

0:21:090:21:14

is that he was a very, very dangerous man.

0:21:140:21:17

He was a crazy man, so...

0:21:190:21:21

They told us, please, if you find him,

0:21:220:21:24

just be really careful with this guy.

0:21:240:21:26

Later, find out how the hunt for Moran went badly wrong

0:21:290:21:32

as the desperate fugitive rammed Olga's car

0:21:320:21:35

before escaping the wrong way down a dual carriageway.

0:21:350:21:39

In London, detective sergeant Pete Rance

0:21:470:21:49

and his team from the extradition unit

0:21:490:21:52

are out trying to catch foreign criminals

0:21:520:21:54

wanted in other European countries.

0:21:540:21:57

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

0:21:570:22:00

The nation that sends out the highest number of arrest warrants

0:22:020:22:06

is Poland.

0:22:060:22:08

If I was to hazard a guess

0:22:080:22:09

and look at the work that comes across my desk

0:22:090:22:11

on a week-to-week basis,

0:22:110:22:13

I would probably say 60-70% of the cases

0:22:130:22:16

that I receive are Polish European Arrest Warrants.

0:22:160:22:21

And that's exactly what Pete and his team are doing this morning.

0:22:210:22:26

The fella we're looking for is a fella called Przemyslaw Ratajczyk

0:22:260:22:28

who is wanted in Poland for fraud offences.

0:22:280:22:31

Everything... All the checks we've done

0:22:310:22:36

indicate that he could well be at this address.

0:22:360:22:38

He has got another family member living with him there.

0:22:380:22:42

Ratajczyk has been convicted for producing and selling

0:22:430:22:47

counterfeit CDs and DVDs and given a ten-month prison sentence.

0:22:470:22:51

The investigation has led Pete and his team to this apartment block

0:22:560:23:01

and they're about to find out if the intelligence is on the money.

0:23:010:23:04

Big dog.

0:23:050:23:07

BARKING

0:23:070:23:09

Not my favourite thing!

0:23:130:23:15

Hello, sir, sorry to trouble you. My name is Pete Rance,

0:23:200:23:22

I'm a detective sergeant with the Metropolitan Police.

0:23:220:23:25

-Say again?

-My name's Peter Rance,

0:23:250:23:26

I'm a detective sergeant with the Metropolitan Police.

0:23:260:23:29

Is it possible to come and speak to you?

0:23:290:23:31

It is still only quarter to six in the morning

0:23:310:23:34

and with the man's brother looking on, Pete makes his enquiries.

0:23:340:23:38

Is this you?

0:23:390:23:40

-Probably, yes.

-It is you, OK.

0:23:440:23:46

Mr Ratajczyk, Poland has issued a European Arrest Warrant

0:23:460:23:50

for your arrest. You are wanted for fraud offences in Poland.

0:23:500:23:53

OK? Because of that...

0:23:540:23:56

..you are under arrest on the European Arrest Warrant.

0:23:580:24:01

You do not have to say anything,

0:24:010:24:03

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

0:24:030:24:05

You can be charged with an offence of fraud over there.

0:24:050:24:08

-OK? Do you understand?

-Yes, yes.

0:24:080:24:11

Sorry, there are no lights, it's dark.

0:24:120:24:16

When you get in, you just need to put your seatbelt on, all right?

0:24:160:24:19

It's a relatively low-level fraud offence this guy is wanted for,

0:24:200:24:24

but he has got ten months in prison to serve

0:24:240:24:26

if his extradition is ordered.

0:24:260:24:28

So the proceedings will start today and he will find out shortly

0:24:280:24:31

whether he is to be extradited or whether there is a case for him

0:24:310:24:34

to remain in the UK.

0:24:340:24:36

Extradition cases like this can take many months

0:24:380:24:41

to go through the courts.

0:24:410:24:43

But Pete's job is to simply find the person named on the warrant,

0:24:430:24:47

no matter what they're wanted for.

0:24:470:24:50

Certain countries will issue requests

0:24:500:24:52

for relatively minor offences,

0:24:520:24:54

other countries will only issue them for serious offences.

0:24:540:24:59

But as an extradition unit, we work on a sort of bilateral basis

0:24:590:25:03

and if they've seen fit to issue the warrant,

0:25:030:25:06

we have a duty and an obligation to execute it

0:25:060:25:08

if we can locate and identify them.

0:25:080:25:11

With the work of the extradition unit done,

0:25:140:25:17

it remains for the judge to decide if Ratajczyk is to be sent back home

0:25:170:25:21

to Poland to serve his sentence.

0:25:210:25:23

Catching fugitives often depends

0:25:280:25:30

on having close connections with the community.

0:25:300:25:33

It's something Amir Nasir, a PCSO in Hastings, knows all too well.

0:25:350:25:41

He moved to the UK from Gdansk in Poland nine years ago

0:25:410:25:45

and his ability to speak four languages

0:25:450:25:47

means he knows just what's going on in his area.

0:25:470:25:50

As well as English, he speaks Russian...

0:25:520:25:55

HE SPEAKS RUSSIAN

0:25:550:25:56

..Arabic...

0:25:580:25:59

HE SPEAKS ARABIC

0:25:590:26:00

..and Polish.

0:26:020:26:03

HE SPEAKS POLISH

0:26:030:26:05

And where he lives, he needs all those language skills.

0:26:080:26:12

Where we are, it's a very diverse area in East Sussex.

0:26:120:26:15

One of the biggest groups is the Eastern European group.

0:26:150:26:18

Poles, and Russian speakers from Latvia and Lithuania.

0:26:180:26:23

There is also a big...

0:26:230:26:24

..Arabic, Kurdish group.

0:26:250:26:26

Amir believes the public's perception of migrant communities

0:26:300:26:34

can make life difficult for many of the people who live in his town.

0:26:340:26:39

I try to do my best

0:26:390:26:40

and I see a lot of people in my community doing their best.

0:26:400:26:44

It doesn't seem fair when I hear in other sources of the press

0:26:440:26:49

that we are not working hard, we do not contribute to the community,

0:26:490:26:54

we are lazy, or we came here for benefits.

0:26:540:26:56

It's not a picture showing the majority.

0:26:560:26:59

The majority of people are peaceful,

0:26:590:27:01

they contribute in one way or the other, they are hard-working.

0:27:010:27:04

Amir is part of a team based at a police community hub

0:27:110:27:14

in the St Leonards part of town.

0:27:140:27:17

To have someone like Amir,

0:27:170:27:19

it really does break down barriers,

0:27:190:27:21

so someone like myself

0:27:210:27:22

or other members of the team

0:27:220:27:23

won't get the same response as Amir does with members of the community.

0:27:230:27:28

The first stop of the day is to check in with the owner

0:27:280:27:31

of a Russian convenience store

0:27:310:27:33

who has had problems with noisy neighbours.

0:27:330:27:36

I get to know them much better,

0:27:380:27:40

and they will tell me even more

0:27:400:27:42

because there is no language barrier.

0:27:420:27:45

THEY SPEAK RUSSIAN

0:27:450:27:46

AMIR SPEAKS RUSSIAN

0:27:480:27:49

The next job for Amir is to deal with a Russian man worried about

0:27:520:27:56

a housing problem, and wary of going to the authorities.

0:27:560:28:00

They will look at it in a different way, they will say,

0:28:040:28:06

"Well, we've got an officer, we can trust him,

0:28:060:28:08

"he understands our issues, he comes from our background,

0:28:080:28:11

"he will understand the problems with traditions."

0:28:110:28:15

There are examples where just purely having that lack of understanding of

0:28:180:28:23

a language can be a huge brick wall for us in the police force and we've

0:28:230:28:28

even had people run away from us, who have done nothing wrong, purely

0:28:280:28:30

because there's just a lack of understanding between us and them.

0:28:300:28:33

Amir is also Muslim.

0:28:370:28:39

His next port of call is the local mosque,

0:28:390:28:42

to check there are no problems with a forthcoming public event.

0:28:420:28:45

Every member of the community here knows him and also,

0:28:460:28:50

if you go out in Central St Leonards,

0:28:500:28:53

everybody meets with him and he is a very popular kind of person.

0:28:530:28:57

This ability to interact with people can also pay dividends

0:29:000:29:04

when it comes to tracking down offenders.

0:29:040:29:07

Good links, or close links with the community is very useful.

0:29:070:29:11

They can provide information that there is an unwanted individual or

0:29:110:29:16

an individual of some criminal background who is in the community.

0:29:160:29:20

And the hunt for foreign criminals doesn't stop when Amir clocks off

0:29:230:29:27

for the day. After he's said goodnight to the kids, once a week,

0:29:270:29:32

he settles down to watch the Polish version of Crimewatch.

0:29:320:29:35

Some of these offenders might be abroad and, in many cases,

0:29:370:29:42

people have rung the police, Poles living abroad,

0:29:420:29:45

who have identified...

0:29:450:29:47

..that person or found that missing person in Germany

0:29:490:29:52

or the UK or Ireland.

0:29:520:29:54

And whilst he keeps his eyes peeled for those wanted faces,

0:29:550:29:59

for the majority of law-abiding people,

0:29:590:30:02

Amir is just a very helpful person to have around.

0:30:020:30:05

For us it's invaluable, it's absolutely brilliant

0:30:060:30:08

that we've got someone like him on our team.

0:30:080:30:11

In 2010, the hunt for Andrew Moran,

0:30:180:30:21

the armed robber who escaped from his own trial and went on the run,

0:30:210:30:25

had moved to Spain.

0:30:250:30:26

By the autumn of 2012,

0:30:290:30:31

the UK's National Crime Agency

0:30:310:30:33

had discovered that Moran's girlfriend was making regular trips

0:30:330:30:37

to a remote village called Los Alcazares

0:30:370:30:40

in the Murcia region of Spain.

0:30:400:30:42

It was down to Olga Lizana,

0:30:450:30:48

head of the Spanish police's fugitive unit, to track him down.

0:30:480:30:52

I found the house but I didn't see him at that point

0:30:520:30:55

but I saw his girlfriend.

0:30:550:30:58

So we knew they were always together

0:30:580:31:00

so we knew he was there.

0:31:000:31:02

Moran's hideout had been discovered at last.

0:31:020:31:05

Armed officers prepared to capture him just as soon as he emerged

0:31:050:31:10

from his rented villa.

0:31:100:31:12

Moran left the house driving a car,

0:31:120:31:14

but we were not sure it was him.

0:31:140:31:16

So we decided, OK, let's follow for a while.

0:31:160:31:20

Their chance came when Moran stopped the car.

0:31:200:31:23

But he was determined not to be captured.

0:31:230:31:26

So I crossed my car, trying to avoid him to escape.

0:31:260:31:30

But there was a place close to there with one entrance and one exit.

0:31:300:31:34

He drove into that place

0:31:340:31:36

and we just tried to block the exit and the entrance.

0:31:360:31:39

He hit the police cars, he escaped,

0:31:390:31:42

and he just took the highway.

0:31:420:31:44

After crashing into a police car,

0:31:440:31:46

Moran sped away down the motorway running along the Spanish coastline.

0:31:460:31:51

We were calling the police officer and also the tolls to tell them

0:31:520:31:56

we're just following this car.

0:31:560:31:58

We told them the plate and tried to stop the car

0:31:580:32:02

but after 15km he just decided to leave the highway.

0:32:020:32:07

At that time, Moran stopped the car, so we were just behind him.

0:32:070:32:12

He didn't know what he was thinking or he was trying to do

0:32:120:32:16

so I told my colleague, "If he opens the door, shoot him,"

0:32:160:32:20

because we were sure Moran got a gun.

0:32:200:32:23

Moran stayed in his car and, in a moment of madness,

0:32:230:32:27

drove off down the wrong side of a dual carriageway.

0:32:270:32:31

He just turned around, took the highway on the wrong way,

0:32:310:32:35

and at that point I was following him

0:32:350:32:37

but we realised he was a real danger for all the people driving.

0:32:370:32:40

It's a busy highway, most cars are driving really fast,

0:32:400:32:46

so it's like I made the decision,

0:32:460:32:48

OK, let him go, we'll find him again.

0:32:480:32:50

Moran had made his escape once more.

0:32:520:32:55

The villa he'd abandoned was searched.

0:32:560:32:58

The fugitive had left plenty of incriminating evidence behind.

0:32:580:33:03

We found some drugs, we found a gun in the kitchen,

0:33:030:33:07

we found a few passports, because we knew he had, in the past,

0:33:070:33:12

he had been using Irish passport,

0:33:120:33:15

but that time we know he was using a false Lithuanian passport,

0:33:150:33:19

so he was just going out to buy something,

0:33:190:33:22

so he left all the stuff over there.

0:33:220:33:24

I think clearly everyone who was involved on that day

0:33:240:33:26

was disappointed with the outcome.

0:33:260:33:29

You know, we had a location where he was at and he unfortunately

0:33:290:33:32

managed to escape arrest.

0:33:320:33:33

I'm sure the Spanish police would be equally as disappointed as we were,

0:33:330:33:36

so, yeah, it was a bit disappointing

0:33:360:33:38

for the team that were involved in tracking him down,

0:33:380:33:40

but actually it just increased our determination to catch him.

0:33:400:33:44

Moran had again disappeared without trace.

0:33:440:33:47

It would take another six months for Spanish and British police to find

0:33:490:33:53

his new hideout, another luxury villa on the Costa Blanca.

0:33:530:33:57

This time, there would be no escape.

0:33:590:34:01

In Coventry, officers are out tracking down criminal offenders

0:34:070:34:11

who have fled to the UK from overseas.

0:34:110:34:13

Earlier in the evening, Sergeant Adam Jobson and his team managed to

0:34:160:34:20

locate a man wanted for breaching a deportation order.

0:34:200:34:24

Wait there one second.

0:34:240:34:25

Slawomir Mielczarek has already served six years

0:34:270:34:31

in a Polish prison for murder.

0:34:310:34:33

Now, the Home Office wants him out of the UK.

0:34:330:34:36

INDISTINCT

0:34:420:34:43

When they are booking in foreign national offenders,

0:34:430:34:46

custody staff have access to interpreters

0:34:460:34:49

at the end of a phone line.

0:34:490:34:51

INTERPRETER SPEAKS OVER PHONE

0:34:510:34:52

It's not been long since Mielczarek was last in custody,

0:34:550:34:58

when he was found in possession of ecstasy, and arrested.

0:34:580:35:02

It was this that alerted the Home Office to his presence

0:35:020:35:04

in the country and his criminal history

0:35:040:35:07

and led to their decision to deport him.

0:35:070:35:10

-OK.

-Kev, can we see how tall he is, please?

-Yeah.

0:35:100:35:14

He's already come across the police,

0:35:140:35:15

and nothing's obviously been mentioned,

0:35:150:35:17

so he probably hasn't even had a second thought about it,

0:35:170:35:20

to be honest, and it's not until we've turned up today and explained

0:35:200:35:23

what's going to happen,

0:35:230:35:24

that's when I think the reality sets in, that he'll be going now,

0:35:240:35:27

and his family are obviously still in the UK at the moment.

0:35:270:35:30

OK, thank you. OK.

0:35:300:35:32

Can you please tell the gentleman

0:35:320:35:34

he's now going to be searched by one of my colleagues,

0:35:340:35:36

and, once he's been searched, the handcuffs will be removed?

0:35:360:35:39

Stand here, sir.

0:35:390:35:40

Can you tell this gentleman because he's got previous for drugs misuse,

0:35:450:35:49

I'm going to authorise a strip search under Section 54 of PACE?

0:35:490:35:53

For Adam, Mielczarek's arrest

0:35:550:35:57

marks the end of a difficult period where he and fellow officers

0:35:570:36:00

have narrowly missed out

0:36:000:36:02

on catching some of the other fugitives they're after.

0:36:020:36:05

When we made that arrest,

0:36:050:36:06

it was almost like a weight's lifted off your shoulders, really,

0:36:060:36:09

and you're going from one address to the next to the next,

0:36:090:36:12

and often it's demoralising,

0:36:120:36:14

sometimes, when you're just not getting anywhere,

0:36:140:36:17

so to actually find someone in,

0:36:170:36:18

especially for such a serious offence,

0:36:180:36:20

I think that was the most serious one we had that week,

0:36:200:36:23

for a murder offence,

0:36:230:36:24

it was certainly very rewarding to get them

0:36:240:36:28

and put them in custody to be dealt with properly.

0:36:280:36:31

By May 2013, Andrew Moran had been on the run for eight years.

0:36:380:36:43

In November the previous year,

0:36:440:36:46

he'd escaped capture by Spanish police

0:36:460:36:48

by driving the wrong way down a dual carriageway.

0:36:480:36:51

In the villa he abandoned,

0:36:520:36:54

he left behind more evidence of his criminal lifestyle.

0:36:540:36:57

We found a gun in the kitchen.

0:36:590:37:01

We also found a machete behind his pillow, so...

0:37:010:37:06

And the way he did things, you know, OK, this is a crazy man,

0:37:060:37:10

he doesn't care about anything, just about himself,

0:37:100:37:13

because you don't do those kinds of things.

0:37:130:37:15

We checked the computers,

0:37:160:37:18

so we realised he was having a really nice life here in Spain.

0:37:180:37:22

From the photographs that we recovered

0:37:230:37:25

from his laptop and his iPad,

0:37:250:37:27

it did show him travelling

0:37:270:37:28

extensively, access to high-powered vehicles,

0:37:280:37:32

lavish lifestyle, and clearly he was living a very opulent life.

0:37:320:37:36

The photos on his laptop also revealed that Moran

0:37:370:37:41

was adept at changing his appearance.

0:37:410:37:45

Some pictures he has very long hair, very blond hair,

0:37:450:37:50

in others, just very short hair.

0:37:500:37:54

Sometimes he was wearing glasses or...

0:37:540:37:58

So it was not that easy

0:37:580:38:02

to realise who he was.

0:38:020:38:05

But police and the National Crime Agency

0:38:050:38:08

were determined this latest escape would be short-lived.

0:38:080:38:13

He was now going to have to perhaps move him into an area that would

0:38:130:38:16

make him even more vulnerable.

0:38:160:38:18

He was no longer perhaps in

0:38:180:38:19

and amongst a seat of criminals over there in Spain.

0:38:190:38:22

He was now going to have to perhaps go it alone.

0:38:220:38:26

Olga and her team spent months

0:38:260:38:29

searching amongst the expat community.

0:38:290:38:32

It's like a personal thing.

0:38:320:38:34

He tried to kill me.

0:38:340:38:37

He didn't care about the Spanish police over there,

0:38:370:38:40

and let's go find him again.

0:38:400:38:43

But with thousands of Brits thronging this coastline,

0:38:460:38:49

tracking down Moran for a second time wasn't going to be easy.

0:38:490:38:53

Spanish police suspected he'd headed for Benidorm.

0:38:540:38:57

We moved some people from my team over there,

0:38:590:39:02

just trying to check all the bars in Benidorm

0:39:020:39:05

It was May, so it was nice weather here.

0:39:050:39:09

All the bars over there, British bars and things like that,

0:39:090:39:12

but we didn't get much information.

0:39:120:39:14

Then came the tip-off they needed.

0:39:170:39:20

A friend of Moran's owned a villa in Calpe,

0:39:200:39:22

half an hour north of Benidorm,

0:39:220:39:25

and it seemed he had a new tenant.

0:39:250:39:27

We just came here to take a look and he was outside,

0:39:280:39:31

so from here we just took some pictures,

0:39:310:39:33

and then we realised it was Moran,

0:39:330:39:37

and after that is when we decided, OK, let's make the arrest in here.

0:39:370:39:40

Olga had tracked Moran down once again.

0:39:420:39:45

Not wanting to take any more chances with this dangerous and potentially

0:39:460:39:50

armed criminal, she called in a crack Spanish Swat team.

0:39:500:39:54

The special team normally go at night

0:39:560:39:59

but I told them a little bit of how dangerous this guy was, it's like...

0:39:590:40:03

And the house got two floors.

0:40:030:40:05

We knew the bedrooms were upstairs,

0:40:050:40:08

so I told them if you get there at night, you have to go upstairs.

0:40:080:40:13

I'm sure this guy got guns again.

0:40:130:40:17

I found a machete, so probably he will get a new one.

0:40:170:40:21

And then we decided, OK, I can see him, he's by the swimming pool,

0:40:210:40:26

he is wearing shorts, so I'm sure he has nothing on him.

0:40:260:40:30

So let's go to do it now.

0:40:300:40:32

As Moran relaxed by the pool with his girlfriend,

0:40:370:40:40

the team caught him by surprise.

0:40:400:40:42

As soon as he realised we were police officers, he tried to escape,

0:40:460:40:49

so he tried to jump to the other house,

0:40:490:40:52

but the police officer got them and they took him back to the house,

0:40:520:40:55

and he was arrested close to the swimming pool.

0:40:550:40:59

We found a lot of mobile phones in the kitchen,

0:40:590:41:03

and then upstairs we found a new machete, under the pillow.

0:41:030:41:09

That's the information... I mean, that's what we expected.

0:41:090:41:11

And this time, the guns were not in the house.

0:41:110:41:15

They were outside, but belonging to the same property.

0:41:150:41:18

Back in Lancashire,

0:41:210:41:23

officers were relieved that the man who'd escaped justice in 2009

0:41:230:41:27

was finally in custody in Spain.

0:41:270:41:30

After all that hard work that we'd done

0:41:310:41:33

to get through the long trial proceedings,

0:41:330:41:35

to find him now two or three times when he's been wanted and escaped,

0:41:350:41:40

to know that he was finally there, arrested, behind bars in Spain,

0:41:400:41:43

safe, and was coming back at some stage to the UK

0:41:430:41:47

was a really sort of...

0:41:470:41:50

real feeling of job satisfaction, of a job well done.

0:41:500:41:53

I think when he escaped the first time, he thought I was stupid,

0:41:530:41:57

or the police officers, or the Spanish police officers were stupid.

0:41:570:42:01

But right now I think he was not that smart...

0:42:010:42:03

..because we found him again.

0:42:050:42:06

So...right now, you have to see, I'm here.

0:42:060:42:10

He's still in jail in Spain

0:42:100:42:13

and he's going back to the UK,

0:42:130:42:15

and he has to spend a long, long time over there,

0:42:150:42:18

so who's the smart guy?

0:42:180:42:20

Following his capture,

0:42:260:42:28

Moran was tried in Spain for drug and traffic offences.

0:42:280:42:32

After three years in a Spanish jail, he was returned to the UK,

0:42:320:42:36

and, in April 2016,

0:42:360:42:38

he was sentenced to a minimum of eight years in prison.

0:42:380:42:41

Slawomir Mielczarek, the man who'd already served six years

0:42:440:42:48

in a Polish prison for murder,

0:42:480:42:50

was deported back to his homeland in March 2016.

0:42:500:42:53

And in May the same year,

0:42:560:42:58

Metropolitan Police put Przemyslaw Ratajczyk

0:42:580:43:01

on a military flight back to Poland to serve his sentence

0:43:010:43:04

for producing and selling counterfeit CDs and DVDs.

0:43:040:43:08

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