Dramatic moment suspected paedophile Matthew Sammon arrested in Spain just hours after being named one of Britain’s 10 most wanted
Police swarmed Sammon's camper van in the popular Costa del Sol holiday resort of Fuengirola
THIS is the dramatic moment one of the UK's top ten fugitives, Brit Matthew Sammon, was arrested in Spain.
Police swarmed suspected paedophile Sammon's camper van in the popular Costa del Sol holiday resort of Fuengirola.
The suspected paedophile was nabbed after a tip-off from a British expat with Crimestoppers, working with the UK's National's Crime Agency and Spanish cops, then alerted to his whereabouts.
Wanted for possession of indecent images of children, Sammon is believed to have been hiding out on the Costa del Sol for almost two years.
Indeed, a ferry ticket from Cork, Ireland to the Roscoff port in northern France was discovered in his small camper van following his detention.
In the late night raid, two undercover policemen stormed the former Mitcham resident's mobile home as he returned from walking his dog.
His former boss Daniel Reid, a plasterer from Blackpool, tipped off authorities to the man's whereabouts after Crimestoppers launched Operation Captura - a joint operation between UK and Spanish cops to hunt down the ten most wanted British criminals thought to be hiding out in Spain.
"As soon as I saw his face among the most wanted I felt sick," said Reid, who had employed Sammon for six months, "I let him hang around my children, we took him in with open arms and at first were none the wiser.
"But we always thought he was a bit weird, he's a real loner and never talks about his family.
"He creeped me and my family out so much that I fired him."
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Sammon was bent over the side of the car before being taken away by plain-clothed policemen.
Following the arrest, National Crime Agency director Steve Reynolds praised the success of the appeal.
He said: "It's absolutely fantastic that within hours of launching the appeal we have already made an arrest.
"We know that fugitives try to hide among expats living in Spain, so that's why we have tried very hard to get their faces out there.
"Thanks to the expat community for tipping us off, this is the reason we run these campaigns."
He said the arrest had shown how well the system worked, saying: "The Spanish National Police were able to respond quickly to a tip off about Matthew Sammon’s location and he was arrested last night in Fuengirola. As we have always said, Spain is not a safe haven."
Sammon will now be taken to a Alhaurin detention centre where he will be finger-printed before being extradited to the UK.
Stephen Lawrence murder suspect Jamie Acourt also featured on the list.
He was one of six youths suspected to have taken part in the 1993 racist murder of 18-year-old Stephen in Eltham, South London.
The 40-year-old is also believed to have been the mastermind of an organised crime group involved in large-scale supply of cannabis.
South Londoner Acourt is wanted by the Met Police and thought to be on the run on the Costas, where his face was emblazoned on a billboard unveiled in Malaga today.
He is described as 5ft 6in tall, of athletic build with a pale complexion, brown hair and eyes and sometimes wears glasses.
Crime-fighting charity Crimestoppers also issued appeal notices to trace the other nine fugitives, who are wanted in the UK for murder, drug running, fraud and paedophile offences.
The rogues gallery has been released in conjunction with the UK’s National Crime Agency to mark the 10th anniversary of the Operation Captura campaign to nail British fugitives in their sunshine bolt-holes and return them to face justice.
It has led 76 fugitives being captured out of 86 notices publicised over the last decade.
