Dilip Kuner
THE RINGLEADER of a British cocaine trafficking gang who was tracked down to a Marbella strip club has been jailed for 12 years by Liverpool Crown Court.
Dominic McInally, 30, from Formby, Merseyside, had been on the run from drugs charges in the UK for six years.
He was detained by Policia Nacional in a raid on the Casa Masa Club. Merseyside police had been looking for him since January 2014, when officers intercepted a car in Crosby and found six kilos of cocaine in a hidden compartment.
Five members of the group led by McInally were later sentenced to a total of 48 years’ imprisonment.
Kathryn Clarke, Head of the National Crime Agency’s International Crime Bureau, said: “NCA officers, with the support of Merseyside Police and the Spanish National Police, tracked McInally down and he was arrested at a nightclub in Spain.
“Through our Operation Captura fugitives campaign, we’ve now apprehended 85 people hiding out overseas, including McInally.
“Criminals who flee the country thinking they can evade capture are no less a priority for law enforcement. The NCA will do all in its power to track fugitives down, and see that they are returned to the UK to face justice.”
Speaking after the sentencing Merseyside Police Assistant Chief Constable Ian Critchley said: “McInally thought he could evade law enforcement. But there can be no hiding place when forces and agencies work well together to bring criminals to justice.
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“He will now perhaps take time to reflect on the risks he took and the harm he caused, while serving his significant jail time.”
“I hope that the sentence sends a message to criminals who think that they are untouchable and can hide from justice – we will not hesitate to track you down and put you before the courts.
This is not the first time The Casa Masa Club – which is on Marbella’s Golden Mile – has been in the news.
In 2017 five people were arrested after a brawl ended with four people being shot, with one needing emergency surgery.
