Third `Most Wanted` fugitive arrested in less than a week
A suspected drug trafficker has handed himself in after three years of being on the run as the pressure got too much for him.
A suspected drug trafficker has handed himself in after three years of being on the run as the pressure got too much for him.
Robert Gerrard, 53, from Liverpool, made arrangements yesterday (October 26) through his solicitor to meet National Crime Agency (NCA) officers in Manchester.
He was arrested and charged with conspiracy to import cocaine as part of Operation Capturas sister campaign Operation Return, based in the Netherlands.
The NCA appealed for help to locate Gerrard after a raid in October 2013 on a Rotterdam café used as a front for a global operations centre for international drug traffickers.
It was believed that Gerrard, the second cousin of footballer Steven Gerrard, was using the café as part of a plot to import large quantities of cocaine into the UK.
Gerrard appeared at Manchester Magistrates Court yesterday afternoon. He was remanded in custody until his next hearing at Manchester Crown Court on November 23.
Greg McKenna, Regional Head of Investigations for the NCA, said: Robert Gerrard handing himself in shows the impact we are having with our Most Wanted campaigns. Three arrests in under a week is a tremendous result.
We dont know at this stage how long Gerrard has been back in the UK for, but he told our officers that the pressure of being on the run had got too much for him.
The fugitives on our most wanted list really do have nowhere to hide. I would urge any of the remaining ones to take note save yourself the trouble and hand yourself in because we will never stop hunting you and you will face justice.
Operation Return is a campaign attempting to locate fugitives wanted for serious crimes committed in the UK but are now believed to be in and around the city of Amsterdam.
Of the 19 fugitives, 11 have been located.