James Warren
A WANTED Brit has been arrested on Spain’s Costa del Sol on suspicion of assault weapon charges as part of a nationwide crackdown on criminal gangs.
Robert Brazendale, 33, was arrested in Estepona after a European Arrest Warrant was issued for charges in the UK.
The Warrington man is wanted in connection with conspiracy to possess firearms with intent to endanger life.
His arrest comes after four machine guns including AK-47s and an Uzi were discovered in properties in London and Manchester.
Brazendale, along with three other men, Hitesh Patel, Bilal Khan and Umair Zaheer, were nabbed in the UK after a 10 month investigation into the encrypted phone network Encrochat, a mobile network long used by criminals.
Under the code name operation Venetec, the British Crime Agency NCA began the investigation at the beginning of the year to dismantle the network.
Brazendale remains in the custody of the Policia Nacional and currently awaits extradition back to the UK for trial.
This latest arrest comes as a wave of gun violence is sweeping the Costa del Sol.
Just last week, a man was found with gunshot wounds in his apartment in the Hacienda Beach Complex in Estepona, just a week after a Spanish man was shot in the back on the head whilst driving through Malaga City.
