Laurence Dollimore
HE had been on the run for years after being accused of heading up one of the most feared murder-for-hire gangs in Panama.
According to police, Francis Jimenez Sutherland, aka Francis, was the leader of the Terror Killa gang, which carried out assassinations and raked in cash from arms and drugs trafficking in Panama, Central America.
But after evading capture for years, the alleged kingpin has been arrested by Spain’s Policia Nacional force while shopping among civilians at a commercial centre in Las Rozas, Madrid.
Video shared by the force yesterday shows Francis about to enter a shop when two undercover female officers approach him and inform him he is under arrest.
They are soon joined by other plain-clothed officers before the clip cuts to him being taken away in handcuffs.
According to Interpol, Francis was considered to be one of the most wanted Latin American fugitives hiding out in Europe.
Interpol ramped up efforts to track down the gangster in July this year.
His Terror Killa group was headquartered in the Panama province of Colon and is said to have been a serious organisation dedicated to assassinations, drug trafficking, armed robberies and home robberies.
Francis was tracked down to Madrid after investigators learned that he had several family members living in Spain.
The investigation focused on multiple provinces before agents found him living in a house with relatives in Madrid.
On the day of his arrest, they followed him in his car to the shopping centre in Las Rozas, where officers made their move.
He is expected to be extradited to Panama to face justice.
