Suspected British sex offender caught in Spain

WANTED Martin Anthony Smith has been arrested in Barcelona for suspected sex offences.

Smith – placed on Crimestoppers’ Operation Captura last September – failed to answer bail two years ago after his arrest on suspicion of raping a child under the age of 16.

Last month, the Olive Press revealed in a crime appeal that Smith was on the run in Spain with his wife and five-year-old daughter.

“This man was being sought in connection with an extremely serious crime.”

The 45-year-old, from Tyneside, is also suspected of gross indecency with a girl under the age of 16, indecent assault of a girl under 16 and the attempted rape of a girl under 16.

“This man was being sought in connection with an extremely serious crime,” said Crimestoppers’ director of operations, Dave Cording.

“Operation Captura continues to go from strength to strength, which is due to law enforcement in both the UK and Spain working so successfully together with the help of vital information provided by the public.

“Nobody should underestimate how important their information about crime is – just one phone call could be the missing piece of the jigsaw that could help bring justice to victims and their families.”

The Olive Press has also tracked down the whereabouts of two other suspected sex offenders Peter Wheatherley and Anthony John Keith.