Karl Smallman
PAEDOPHILE Michael McCartney, 78, from Letchworth, was arrested in Alicante just hours after his details were published during the latest Operation Captura appeal.
He was arrested when Spanish swooped on his apartment. He is now in police custody awaiting extradition and will be appearing in court in Madrid where extradition proceedings will begin.
McCartney was convicted of committing sexual offences against three young males on different occasions over a number of years. All the boys were under 16 when the abuse occurred.
McCartney becomes the 54th wanted individual to be arrested as part of Operation Captura since its launch in 2006, which has so far seen 76 appeals made public, including this new list of 13 wanted faces.
Lord Ashcroft, KCMG PC, Founder and Chair of Crimestoppers, said: “Once again the significance and power of Operation Captura has been demonstrated with this latest arrest so soon after this latest launch.
“I have said it before, and I will say it again, wanted individuals have nowhere to hide thanks to the support this project receives from our partner organisations and the public, both in the UK and in Spain.”
If you have any information on the whereabouts of any of the individuals featured on Operation Captura’s list, please contact Crimestoppers anonymously on 900 555 111 from Spain or 0800 555 111 from the UK.
For years, Spain had been an appealing hideaway for British criminals evading capture. But this changed in 2004 with European Arrest Warrants, making it easier to bring British criminals back to face justice.
