Portugese police today arrested a man wanted in Britain for attempted rape.
Paul Buchanan was one of the targets of Operation Captura which aims to track down suspects hiding in expat communities, mostly in Spain.
Buchanan, 29, was on the National Crime Agency’s list as he is wanted by West Mercia police to face the serious charge.
Originally from New York, Buchanan was detained in Lisbon and will appear in a local court on Saturday before transport arrangements are made under the European Arrest Warrant scheme.
Dave Allen, who heads the UK bureau at the NCA, said today “The arrest of Paul Buchanan is the second success for Operation Captura this month. Recent work to publicise the outstanding subjects has brought the campaign to the attention of expats and holidaymakers alike, and continues to make life uncomfortable for fugitives looking to evade justice by fleeing abroad.”
Buchanan was stopped at Lisbon’s Gare do Oriente with no ticket or ID. When questioned by police, eventually he gave his real name which police matched with a photo in the international ‘wanted’ file.
Operation Captura is a joint campaign between the NCA and the UK charity Crimestoppers founded by Lord Ashcroft.
“It is fantastic to hear that there has been another arrest. The list of fugitives wanted as part of Operation Captura gets smaller all the time and we will not stop until all of them have been brought to justice,” commented Ashcroft.
So far 68 of the 86 individuals on the Captura list have been apprehended, mostly in Spain which for years has been a hideaway for British criminals trying to evade capture.
This all changed in 2004 with the implementation of the European Arrest Warrant scheme, making it easier to bring British criminals back to face justice.
For pictures of some of those still wanted by UK police, click below:
https://crimestoppers-uk.org/get-involved/our-campaigns/international-campaigns/operation-captura/
