British fugitive wanted for conspiracy to murder arrested in Spain’s Barcelona

A BRITISH fugitive wanted on suspicion of conspiring to murder two men has been arrested in Barcelona.

Policia Nacional arrested Jamie Rothwell, 33, from Salford, Greater Manchester, at an apartment block on Sunday morning.

A European Arrest Warrant had been issued against him in October 2019 for allegedly conspiring to murder two men and also for two counts of conspiring to commit grievous bodily harm.

British National Crime Agency (NCA) investigators and the agency’s international liaison officers in Spain traced Rothwell, passing the information on to Spanish police.

Rothwell appeared in a Spanish court on Monday and was remanded in custody while waiting for an extradition hearing.

Matt Horne, NCA deputy director of investigations, said: “The arrest of a fugitive over exceptionally serious allegations is a great result.

“It’s an example of how the agency and our international partners work to protect the public, and even during the coronavirus when there’ve been greater hurdles to overcome, the NCA has remained relentless in leading the UK’s fight against serious organised crime.”

Detective Chief Inspector Carl Jones, of Greater Manchester Police’s Major Incident Team, said: “This arrest is part of Greater Manchester Police’s (GMP) ongoing investigation in to a dispute between two rival organised crime groups in Salford in 2015.

“Operation Leopard is a collaborative operation which utilises specialists from GMP’s Major Incident Team and Serious and Organised Crime Group.

“This arrest wouldn’t have been possible without an excellent working relationship between GMP, the Crown Prosecution Service, National Crime Agency and the Spanish authorities.”