One of the components of the list of the 12 most wanted criminals in the United Kingdom, released this morning, had already fallen into the hands of the police. The arrest took place hours before the presentation, on the morning of this Thursday, of the international campaign “Most Wanted” in the Alicante capital, in which the name and police portrait of the person who had already been arrested were revealed, to request citizen collaboration to identify and arrest him.
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It is Simon Dutton, allegedly involved in a drug trafficking and document forgery network and the main suspect in a joint operation between the Civil Guard and the British National Crime Agency (NCA). Dutton, 49, was arrested early this morning in La Nucia (Alicante), a municipality near Altea and Benidorm, and will be brought before the National Court to process his extradition, according to sources from the armed institute.
The investigation that led to Dutton’s arrest, first reported by the newspaper TodoAlicante and confirmed by this newspaper, began in November 2025. The manager of a parcel shipping establishment in Benidorm alerted the Civil Guard that a suspicious package had been left in their premises. The agents were able to verify that it was a suitcase containing 16 kilos of hashish, with the final destination in the United Kingdom. The sender was a woman who presented false documentation when processing the shipment, according to the same sources. She had come accompanied by two other men, who were the ones who transported the suitcase. One of them was identified as Dutton, who was subject to an international arrest warrant issued at the end of last year for an alleged drug trafficking offense.
The investigation, led by the Organized Crime and Anti-Drug team (EDOA) of the Alicante Judicial Police, with the support of the Fugitives from Justice team of the Central Operative Unit (UCO), continued pulling the thread until the definitive identification and location of the three members of the British criminal network. The three suspects lived and moved between La Nucia, a mountain town near the coast, and Benidorm. In the tourist capital of the Costa Blanca, the woman who had participated in the shipment of the suitcase was arrested.
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Once the arrests were made, the agents searched several homes in both municipalities. They found various amounts of narcotic substances, as well as 4,000 euros in cash, false documentation, and two vehicles used by the suspects, according to Civil Guard sources. The three are charged with drug trafficking and document forgery. Dutton will appear before the National Court, while his two alleged accomplices will appear before ordinary courts.
The list of the most wanted British fugitives loses one of its members with this arrest. In the NCA file, Dutton was listed as a drug trafficker, specializing in the import and export of cocaine between the United Kingdom and Spain. It was also detailed that in one of the operations linked to his organization, the British police had seized 10.5 kilos of cocaine and that he was accused of forging his passport. The physical data reflected a tall stature, around 1.90 meters, medium build, and dark hair. The British agency added that he had been detected in various locations in Spain.
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