Benjamin Macann: One of UK’s most wanted men arrested in Bulgaria
He is wanted by police in Norfolk for allegedly conspiring to supply class A drugs
One of the UK’s most wanted men has been arrested in Bulgaria.
Benjamin Macann, 32, was arrested on Monday at a hotel in the southern city of Plovdiv.
He was found to be in possession of a fake passport and a genuine passport in someone else’s name, the National Crime Agency (NCA) said.
Macann, formerly of Dereham, Norfolk, is wanted by Norfolk Police for allegedly conspiring to supply class A drugs.
He is accused of supplying multi kilogrammes of cocaine in 2020 in which he and accomplices used encrypted handsets.
Macann’s arrest follows a most wanted campaign by the NCA and Crimestoppers in January this year, which featured 12 alleged fugitives thought to be hiding in Spain.
He is the fifth person from the list to be arrested and he remains in custody awaiting the beginning of extradition proceedings.
Macann was located and arrested following an operation involving the National Crime Agency, Bulgarian police and Spanish Guardia Civil.
Steve Reynolds, NCA regional manager in Spain, said: “Benjamin Macann’s arrest was made possible after some great work by our international liaison officers, the Guardia Civil fugitives team, Bulgarian Police and our counterparts in Bulgaria’s international cooperation directorate to whom we are very grateful.
“Macann is the fifth fugitive to be arrested from the Most Wanted list. We won’t stop until the remainder are caught.”
Detective Sergeant Eddie Hammond of the Norfolk and Suffolk serious organised crime unit said: “We continue to work with partners and law enforcement agencies around the world to locate our most wanted.
“We would like to thank them all for their continued determination and meticulous hard work as they continue to disrupt criminal networks around the world, meaning nowhere is safe to hide.”
Lord Ashcroft, founder and chair of the charity Crimestoppers, said: “Our charity is here to support people to speak up anonymously when they know about crime and that includes passing on the whereabouts of fugitives who are wanted by law enforcement both here and abroad.
“It is incredibly encouraging to learn that another fugitive has been caught, proving the success of our joint Most Wanted campaign with the NCA.”