'Britain's Most Wanted' Cocaine Boss Arrested In Spain
A British man considered to be one of the most wanted men in the UK has been arrested in a raid by Spanish police near Benidorm.
Louis James Edwards, 44, is alleged to have led a network of criminals which distributed cocaine across the south of England.
Picked up by police in a Benidorm hotel on 21 June, Edwards was later videoed being led away barefoot by officers through the town.
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He was later given a pair of trainers to wear, with video footage of his arrest showing officers leading him through the police station and into a jail cell.
The arrest was made by the Spanish Civil Guard, who were working closely with members of Britain's National Crime Agency (NCA) to track him down for his suspected part in cocaine distribution.
Also arrested in a subsequent raid was Dutchman Cornelis Korfet, who was nabbed by officers in nearby L'Alfas del Pi the day after police caught Edwards.
They released a statement which said the first investigations into Edwards had begun in Malaga, but agents on his trail followed the alleged cocaine boss to Alicante.
Working with the NCA, Civil Guard officers were able to get closer to Edwards thanks to knowledge of his relative's movements in the area, leading them to the Benidorm hotel where he was tracked down and arrested.
Korfet was caught after collaboration between Spanish and Dutch police forces, who were able to track him down to the province of Alicante.
The 35-year-old had been arrested on three previous occasions with different fake identities, twice in Alicante and once in Barcelona.
Officers were able to track down the man and after a period of 'intense surveillance' they deduced that he was using a fourth new fake identity and arrested him.
The Dutchman was arrested while having breakfast with friends, footage of the arrest shows him attempting to flee through a café.
He is wanted in his native Netherlands for attempted murder, with Dutch police after him for his alleged part in a revenge shooting in a gang war where two people were seriously injured.
No information has yet been provided over the chances of either man being extradited back to their home countries, nor any details on what sort of prison sentence they could serve.
If the UK wants to extradite Edwards so he can be turned over to the custody of British police remains to be seen.
Joe Harker