Suspected heroin trafficker Mark Brown captured in the Netherlands
18 December 2009
Forty-four year old Mark Ronald Brown was arrested by Amsterdam Regional Police on Thursday afternoon at a petrol station in Almere on the outskirts of Amsterdam. (17th December 2009)
Brown is believed to have been the head of an organised crime gang responsible for the importation of hundreds of kilos of heroin in the UK. He was captured following an operation involving SOCA and the Dutch police.
Details of his status as a wanted fugitive had been publicised through Crimestoppers ‘Operation Captura’, something which Brown alluded to when arrested. He commented that he had felt unsafe in Spain knowing that he was wanted there, and so had moved to the Netherlands. He added that, now that he had been arrested, he was glad that it was all over.
A SOCA spokesman said: "This arrest is a massive endorsement for Crimestoppers Operation Captura and its reputation in the criminal community. SOCA and our international partners, working together with Crimestoppers and the general public, are having a real impact on UK fugitives abroad - making sure they realise that at any moment there could be a knock on the door followed by the clink of handcuffs."