Hunt For Fugitive Taken To Spain

7 July 2015, 07:39 | Updated: 30 March 2016, 13:50

A Scot is on a list of Britain's 18 most wanted fugitives whose faces will be broadcast around expat hotspots in Spain.

The initiative, by crime-fighting charity Crimestoppers and the National Crime Agency (NCA), aims to track down suspects believed to be hiding among British communities in the Spanish Costas, including Benidorm, Malaga and Puerto Banus.

Their images will be broadcast on a digital screen, attached to the back of a van, which is touring the areas and parking outside nightclubs, bars, supermarkets and restaurants.

The list includes Derek McGraw Ferguson, 51, who is being hunted in connection with the murder of Thomas Cameron on June 28, 2007 at the Auchinairn Tavern in Bishopbriggs, East Dunbartonshire.

He is described as being between 5ft and 5ft 2in with green/blue eyes and short, balding brown/grey hair.

It is the latest push to track down the 18 remaining individuals wanted as part of Operation Captura.

Steve Reynolds, NCA deputy director, said: "We've caught 68 out of 86 fugitives on the Captura list and the rest know we won't stop until we catch them too.

"By taking our campaign directly into Spanish communities where we believe they are living and socialising, their lives will become even more uncomfortable. We want British expats and locals to help us by being extra eyes and ears and telling us what they know.

"These fugitives are wanted for serious crimes. Anyone who is helping them stay on the run, such as girlfriends, wives, family members back home, or criminal associates, should know that assisting them is an offence too.

"There may also be people in the UK with vital information on the whereabouts of these fugitives and we would urge them to get in touch."

Captura, a multi-agency initiative between Crimestoppers, the NCA and Spanish authorities, is now in its ninth year.

Crimestoppers and the NCA work closely with the Foreign and Commonwealth Office in Madrid and with British and Spanish law enforcement agencies as part of the campaign.

Roger Critchell, director of operations for Crimestoppers, said: "This is something that we have never done before but we believe that broadcasting these fugitives' faces right in their back yards will not only encourage the public to speak up but show these individuals that there really is nowhere to hide.

"There will be no avoiding the faces on this screen - they'll be broadcast in all the popular expat areas.

"I would urge anyone who recognises any of those faces to contact Crimestoppers anonymously. We don't take personal details and you won't have to give a statement or go to court.

"Many of these fugitives are currently living a life of leisure funded by serious crime. They cannot be allowed to hide forever, they must be brought to justice. Do the right thing and help us find them."