The U.K. gives their criminal minded weekend release passes
3 August 2014 Last updated at 09:52 ET
Fugitive ostrich farm fraudster Martin Evans held in South Africa
Martin Evans was arrested on a housing complex in Johannesburg
Fugitive conman, drug dealer and money launderer Martin Evans has been arrested by armed police in South Africa after three years on the run.
Evans, 52, from Swansea - who was jailed for 21 years in 2006 for conspiracy to supply cocaine and fraudulent trading - was arrested in Johannesburg on Saturday.
His scams included swindling 87 investors out of £900,000 in an ostrich farm fraud in south Wales.
He will appear in court on Monday.
Evans was named by police as one of the UK's "most wanted" in 2012 who said they suspected he was living a life of luxury, probably on Cyprus.
A spokesman for the National Crime Agency (NCA) said Evans was sought as part of Operation Zygos, which was set up to track Britain's 12 most wanted people.
He said: "We knew he had moved to South Africa. We were tracking him down."
Evans disappeared in August 2011 after failing to return from a weekend release from prison in Wiltshire.
He was arrested on Saturday night after an operation involving the NCA and Interpol, and intelligence-led surveillance operations were handled by South African Police.
Hank Cole, the NCA's head of international operations, said: "The exceptional level of collaboration and intelligence sharing with the South African Police Service led to the capture of Evans.
"This arrest shows the NCA and its partners will pursue fugitives wherever they are in the world.
"They can run but they can't hide. We have the capacity to track them down and bring them to justice."
Evans had been known to use the aliases Martin Roydon Evans, Martin Wayne Evans, Anthony Hall and Paul Kelly.
It is not the first time Evans has been on the run.
Before he was jailed in 2006, he had been hiding in Holland and Spain, where he masterminded a drugs and money laundering operation, shipping at least £3m of ecstasy and cocaine into Britain.
Evans began his criminal career in the mid 1990s after his double-glazing firm in Port Talbot failed.
Evans set up his ostrich farm after another business failed
He set up an ostrich-breeding business, promising profits of 70% a year, and targeting newly-retired people for investment by advertising in specialist retirement magazines.
On the day his trial was due to start in Swansea in March 2000, Evans jumped bail and sent a fax to the court saying he would not be attending.
Criminal earnings
He went on the run as the authorities searched for his assets in Jersey and the Bahamas.
He was caught in November 2001 while trying to enter the US with a false passport.
At his 2006 trial at Swansea Crown Court, Evans was sentenced to 24 years in jail, but this was reduced to 21 years and three months, on appeal.
He was also given a separate sentence of eight years for failure to comply with a £4.5m confiscation order which the court heard would "extinguish" his criminal earnings.
The jury was told an investigation had identified Evans owned a property in Swansea, a £2m villa in Marbella and he had bank accounts in Latvia, Antigua, Switzerland, Dominica as well as the UK.
Evans, a former Young Businessman of the Year for Wales, was brought up in Pontardulais, Swansea.
He will appear in court in Pretoria.
Police said eight people were still being sought under Operation Zygos.
Fugitive British drug baron captured in South Africa
File picture shows policemen patrolling an area in Rustenburg, South Africa on April 30, 2014 during a visit by the police minister (AFP Photo/Mujahid Safodien)
Johannesburg (AFP) - Police in South Africa have arrested a British fugitive drugs dealer and convicted fraudster who has been on the run for three years, police announced Sunday.
Martin Evans, 52, from Swansea in Wales, was captured Saturday in Johannesburg.
He will appear in a Pretoria court on Monday for a procedural extradition hearing, police spokesman Solomon Makgale said in a statement.
South African police's National Crime Intelligence Unit and Interpol officers on Saturday night "arrested one of the United Kingdom's most wanted fugitives," said Makgale.
A once-successful businessman, Evans was serving a 21-year jail term for drugs smuggling when in 2011 he failed to return to prison after release on a five-day leave.
He was found Saturday night at a secure, concrete-walled and gated suburban housing estate in Johannesburg's Midrand suburb.
He had been staying with a female compatriot believed to be a Cypriot, and he was using a fake Cyprus passport, according to Makgale.
Police could not specify when Evans entered South Africa, saying police were still investigating.
"This arrest shows the NCA and its partners will pursue fugitives wherever they are in the world," said Hank Cole of Britain's National Crime Agency (NCA) in the statement.
"They can run but they can't hide," he said.
In the joint statement with the police, the British High Commissioner to Pretoria, Judith Macgregor, hailed the arrest as "testimony to the close working relationship between the UK and South Africa on security issues".
3 August 2014 Last updated at 09:52 ET
Fugitive ostrich farm fraudster Martin Evans held in South Africa
Martin Evans was arrested on a housing complex in Johannesburg
Fugitive conman, drug dealer and money launderer Martin Evans has been arrested by armed police in South Africa after three years on the run.
Evans, 52, from Swansea - who was jailed for 21 years in 2006 for conspiracy to supply cocaine and fraudulent trading - was arrested in Johannesburg on Saturday.
His scams included swindling 87 investors out of £900,000 in an ostrich farm fraud in south Wales.
He will appear in court on Monday.
Evans was named by police as one of the UK's "most wanted" in 2012 who said they suspected he was living a life of luxury, probably on Cyprus.
A spokesman for the National Crime Agency (NCA) said Evans was sought as part of Operation Zygos, which was set up to track Britain's 12 most wanted people.
He said: "We knew he had moved to South Africa. We were tracking him down."
Evans disappeared in August 2011 after failing to return from a weekend release from prison in Wiltshire.
He was arrested on Saturday night after an operation involving the NCA and Interpol, and intelligence-led surveillance operations were handled by South African Police.
Hank Cole, the NCA's head of international operations, said: "The exceptional level of collaboration and intelligence sharing with the South African Police Service led to the capture of Evans.
"This arrest shows the NCA and its partners will pursue fugitives wherever they are in the world.
"They can run but they can't hide. We have the capacity to track them down and bring them to justice."
Evans had been known to use the aliases Martin Roydon Evans, Martin Wayne Evans, Anthony Hall and Paul Kelly.
It is not the first time Evans has been on the run.
Before he was jailed in 2006, he had been hiding in Holland and Spain, where he masterminded a drugs and money laundering operation, shipping at least £3m of ecstasy and cocaine into Britain.
Evans began his criminal career in the mid 1990s after his double-glazing firm in Port Talbot failed.
Evans set up his ostrich farm after another business failed
He set up an ostrich-breeding business, promising profits of 70% a year, and targeting newly-retired people for investment by advertising in specialist retirement magazines.
On the day his trial was due to start in Swansea in March 2000, Evans jumped bail and sent a fax to the court saying he would not be attending.
Criminal earnings
He went on the run as the authorities searched for his assets in Jersey and the Bahamas.
He was caught in November 2001 while trying to enter the US with a false passport.
At his 2006 trial at Swansea Crown Court, Evans was sentenced to 24 years in jail, but this was reduced to 21 years and three months, on appeal.
He was also given a separate sentence of eight years for failure to comply with a £4.5m confiscation order which the court heard would "extinguish" his criminal earnings.
The jury was told an investigation had identified Evans owned a property in Swansea, a £2m villa in Marbella and he had bank accounts in Latvia, Antigua, Switzerland, Dominica as well as the UK.
Evans, a former Young Businessman of the Year for Wales, was brought up in Pontardulais, Swansea.
He will appear in court in Pretoria.
Police said eight people were still being sought under Operation Zygos.
Fugitive British drug baron captured in South Africa
File picture shows policemen patrolling an area in Rustenburg, South Africa on April 30, 2014 during a visit by the police minister (AFP Photo/Mujahid Safodien)
Johannesburg (AFP) - Police in South Africa have arrested a British fugitive drugs dealer and convicted fraudster who has been on the run for three years, police announced Sunday.
Martin Evans, 52, from Swansea in Wales, was captured Saturday in Johannesburg.
He will appear in a Pretoria court on Monday for a procedural extradition hearing, police spokesman Solomon Makgale said in a statement.
South African police's National Crime Intelligence Unit and Interpol officers on Saturday night "arrested one of the United Kingdom's most wanted fugitives," said Makgale.
A once-successful businessman, Evans was serving a 21-year jail term for drugs smuggling when in 2011 he failed to return to prison after release on a five-day leave.
He was found Saturday night at a secure, concrete-walled and gated suburban housing estate in Johannesburg's Midrand suburb.
He had been staying with a female compatriot believed to be a Cypriot, and he was using a fake Cyprus passport, according to Makgale.
Police could not specify when Evans entered South Africa, saying police were still investigating.
"This arrest shows the NCA and its partners will pursue fugitives wherever they are in the world," said Hank Cole of Britain's National Crime Agency (NCA) in the statement.
"They can run but they can't hide," he said.
In the joint statement with the police, the British High Commissioner to Pretoria, Judith Macgregor, hailed the arrest as "testimony to the close working relationship between the UK and South Africa on security issues".