Join on WhatsApp
Join on Telegram
Rabat – Morocco has handed over a wanted fugitive to the UK for his involvement in a murder case in Essex, a county in southeast England.
The UK’s National Crime Agency (NCA) announced the news on Thursday, stressing that the suspect is one of the “UK’s most wanted fugitives.”
Moroccan police arrested the suspect in September 2022 at the Tangier Port after he attempted to enter the North African country using forged documents.
“He had travelled in the back of a lorry from Spain,” the (NCA) said in the statement, adding that the suspect was escorted back to the UK on Tuesday this week by an extradition team from the agency’s joint international crime center.
The defendant is facing charges in relation to the killing of a 50-year-old man, who was shot eight times with a pistol in June 2020.
Commenting on the security operation, the UK’s ambassador in Rabat, Simon Martin, emphasized the importance of cooperation with Morocco.
London and Rabat enjoy a “very positive relationship with Morocco across many areas, including working in partnership to tackle serious organized crime,” said Ambassador Martin. “The return of this suspect to the UK to face trial on these serious charges is a tangible result of that partnership. I am grateful for the cooperation of our Moroccan partners.”
Investigating officer Stephen Jennings of Essex Police also commended the UK’s partnership with international partners, stressing that the arrest and extradition of the suspect are the outcomes of an “excellent collaboration between Essex Police and Our Law enforcement colleagues around the world.”
“And it doesn’t stop here,” he added, noting the British police’s determination to do justice to the victim’s family and to all people who have lost relatives and loved ones to violent crime.
“We won’t stop until each and every suspect is located, questioned and ultimately brought before the courts,” Jennings said.
