MADRID: The fugitive leader of a drug smuggling gang, whose members included a Cornish grandmother who used pasties to hide heroin, has been arrested in Tenerife.
Stephen Blundell, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to supply heroin in April 2013, but fled to Spain before he could be sentenced.
But the 36-year-old, who is originally from Liverpool, was held on a European Arrest Warrant, after handing himself into Spanish authorities in Tenerife.
After fleeing the UK, Blundell was jailed for nine years and eight months in his absence, while other members of his gang were sentenced to a total of 77-years.
The group was suspected of supplying large amounts of heroin from Merseyside into the south west of England, and Blundell was one of the National Crime Agency’s prime targets.
Extradition proceedings are expected to begin when Blundell appears before the Spanish national court in Madrid.
Devon and Cornwall Police targeted Blundell as part of an 18-month long investigation into the supply of heroin from Merseyside into areas such as Bodmin, Exeter, Tiverton and Torquay. The other members of his group received sentences totalling 77 years.
Detective Constable Jason Braund, from Devon and Cornwall Police, said: “Inquiries revealed Blundell was hiding in Tenerife and we are now working closely with the National Crime Agency to ensure he is returned to the UK to serve his sentence.
“We will continue to hunt down those that abscond from justice whether they be here or overseas.
“The dismantling of Blundell’s drug network highlights we will not tolerate the supply of drugs in our communities and will continue to make Devon and Cornwall a safer place to live.”
Hank Cole, head of international operations for the NCA, said: “Blundell would have been constantly looking over his shoulder after his mugshot appeared across Spain as part of the Captura ‘unlucky thirteen’ campaign.
“It was only a matter of time before he was caught as the Spanish National Police had been carrying out intelligence-led operations in Tenerife. The law enforcement net was tightening and I believe he handed himself in when he realised his days on the run were numbered.”
Blundell is the 64th fugitive to be located out of 76 publicised through Operation Captura, a multi-agency initiative between Crimestoppers, the National Crime Agency and the Spanish authorities. He featured in the Captura “unlucky thirteen” campaign launched in November 2013.
