Fugitive Briton Drug Dealer Arrested After Hiding Out In Thailand

[sriracha john]

Nigel Hunt is now awaiting extradition back to the UK.

BBC

Wanted drug dealer held in Spain

A convicted drug dealer who has been on the run for 18 months has been arrested in Spain.

Nigel Hunt, from the Rawtenstall area of Lancashire, was jailed for five and a half years in 2004 for conspiracy to supply controlled class A drugs.

But he absconded from Kirkham Prison in August 2006, prompting a manhunt which ended in his arrest at Madrid airport after he flew in from Thailand.

Lancashire Police said he was currently awaiting extradition to the UK. The force's Serious and Organised Crime Unit was granted a European arrest warrant in December 2006.

It allowed officers to make inquiries through Interpol and they learnt Hunt was due to travel from Thailand to Spain on 12 February.

Lancashire officers worked closely with their Spanish colleagues to ensure that Hunt was arrested as he landed, the force said.

Det Insp Simon Brooksbank, who has led the inquiry, said: "This should serve as a clear warning to anybody who thinks they can evade justice. "There is no hiding place and we will work with our colleagues across the globe in order to bring people to justice."

- BBC / 2009-02-21

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'Most wanted' Rossendale drug dealer held in Spain

A drug dealer who had been on the run for 18 months after absconding from prison is being held in Spain.

Police said Nigel Hunt, who lived in Haslingden, was one of Lancashire’s ‘most wanted’ men.

Officers swooped on Hunt, a former manager of Rawtenstall's Sun Inn, at Madrid airport after learning he had been ‘hiding out’ in Thailand and Europe.

Hunt, 35, formerly of Schofield Road, Rawtenstall, and then of Rosewood Avenue, Haslingden, absconded from Kirkham prison in 2006.

He had been jailed in 2004 after undercover officers caught him selling ecstasy from the Bank Street pub’s toilets.

He was sentenced to five-and-a-half years in jail after being found guilty of supplying Class A drugs.

Police then carried out a financial investigation into Hunt’s affairs and he was ordered to pay back £83,380 he had made from crime.

Failure to pay would add an extra 20 months to his prison sentence.

This order was due to kick in when he absconded and officers believe this was the motivation for him fleeing the country.

Detective Inspector Simon Brooksbank, of the force’s Serious and Organised Crime Unit, said: "Hunt had property in the Canary Islands so it was possible he was on his way there.

"But we believe he had absolutely no intention of ever returning to the UK. He wanted to continue his life of freedom.

"His arrest sends out the message that no matter where you are in the world we will do our best to find you.

"There is no hiding place and we will work with our colleagues across the globe in order to bring people to justice.”

A European arrest warrant was initially granted for Hunt in December 2006 as Lancashire officers liased with Interpol to hunt him down.

He was traced to Thailand, where it is thought he had been living for some time.

Officers then discovered he was due to get on a flight from there to Spain on Thursday.

He was arrested by Spanish police at the airport and is due to be extradited next week.

- Lancashire Telegraph / 2009-02-21

[tijnebijn]

SWEET

[ConfusedFarang]

"There is no hiding place", he was obviously hiding just fine until he decided to leave Thailand. Even if he couldnt hide in Thailand, Indonesia's non-extraditable, at least for americans.

[ronz28]

Was he pushing drugs in Thailand? Men In Brown need to follow-up on his connections in Thailand. How was he funding 18 months of living expenses in Thailand? Are his connections still at it?

[Cobalt60]

Most wanted ? and he was in Kirkham prison > Kirkham is one of the most open of open prisons in the country, they have the keys to their room <deleted>. He would have been in a Cat A if he was considered so high a risk.

[sriracha john]

One of Lancashire's most wanted caught

An East Lancashire man who is one of the county's most wanted has been arrested in Madrid.

Nigel Hunt, who is originally from the Rawtenstall area has been on the run for 18 months.

He was sentenced to five and a half years in prison for conspiracy to supply controlled Class A drugs in May 2004.

Hunt was ordered to pay a confiscation order of over eighty thousand pounds or face more jail time but he absconded from Kirkham Prison in 2006.

- News Radio 107 / 2009-02-21

[darrendsd]

Most wanted ? and he was in Kirkham prison > Kirkham is one of the most open of open prisons in the country, they have the keys to their room <deleted>. He would have been in a Cat A if he was considered so high a risk.

your entirley right about kirkham

however if he was jailed in 2004 and absconded in 2006 it means he would have been near the end of his sentence and no longer considered a cat A risk

hence he was in kirkham to finish the end of his sentence ibefore his release after probably spending the first 2 years in a cat A prison

this is the way the british prison system works

[Nampeung]

[Cobalt60]

Nice to see some are bored, not enough threads about the best sandwiches or burgers ever eaten, or how to ditch your thai girlfriend ?

Its good that one of the miserable dregs of society has been re captured all the same.

[Buang]

It's a shame our world Justice Agencies still cannot pin down the real baddies, but at least they got this fool back.

[TJAN]

Most wanted ? and he was in Kirkham prison > Kirkham is one of the most open of open prisons in the country, they have the keys to their room <deleted>. He would have been in a Cat A if he was considered so high a risk.

Another Brit a lot to go.

[femi fan]

Nice to see some are bored, not enough threads about the best sandwiches or burgers ever eaten, or how to ditch your thai girlfriend ?

Its good that one of the miserable dregs of society has been re captured all the same.

On the contrary, i think it's pathetic when we spend our time worrying about imprisoning people selling a drug that so many people want to take for their weekend leisure. Adults selling ecstasy to adults. Why should the state interfere with this transaction? Just what has it rightfully got to do with them?

If you want to get the 'miserable dregs of society' off the road, then go spend your energies getting most of our leaders into prison. They're the real criminals.

[neverdie]

I wonder if he's related to MIKE HUNT ?

[sassienie]

Can`t understand why he did not stay in Thailand where he would have been perfectly safe.

All he had to do was open a bar in Phuket as a front for his illegal activities and use the visa run system, the same as many other Western criminals.

[ritaski]

Was he pushing drugs in Thailand? Men In Brown need to follow-up on his connections in Thailand. How was he funding 18 months of living expenses in Thailand? Are his connections still at it?

He wasn't 'pushing' in Thailand .-- he had a good business there until a woman got hold of him and started to blackmail him. He lost his business and ended up on 'trumped up' charges because she thought he had more money than he really had. He had his passport taken away so he couldn't leave and went through unimaginable conditions because he could not 'pay off' this woman. She thought he had family who would bail him out but he didn't. He eventually got his passport back after months of living rough in the jungle and begging for rice and getting no help at all from previous 'friends'. He never did anything wrong in Thailand except fall for a woman who lied to get what she could. The Court even new that she was lying and told her to drop the charges...but all this took months to happen...and he paid a high price.

[sassienie]

Was he pushing drugs in Thailand? Men In Brown need to follow-up on his connections in Thailand. How was he funding 18 months of living expenses in Thailand? Are his connections still at it?

He wasn't 'pushing' in Thailand .-- he had a good business there until a woman got hold of him and started to blackmail him. He lost his business and ended up on 'trumped up' charges because she thought he had more money than he really had. He had his passport taken away so he couldn't leave and went through unimaginable conditions because he could not 'pay off' this woman. She thought he had family who would bail him out but he didn't. He eventually got his passport back after months of living rough in the jungle and begging for rice and getting no help at all from previous 'friends'. He never did anything wrong in Thailand except fall for a woman who lied to get what she could. The Court even new that she was lying and told her to drop the charges...but all this took months to happen...and he paid a high price.

ahhh, shame.

[samuibeachcomber]

Can`t understand why he did not stay in Thailand where he would have been perfectly safe.

All he had to do was open a bar in Phuket as a front for his illegal activities and use the visa run system, the same as many other Western criminals.

good point,and i thought i was safe on samui

[PhilHarries]

Was he pushing drugs in Thailand? Men In Brown need to follow-up on his connections in Thailand. How was he funding 18 months of living expenses in Thailand? Are his connections still at it?

He wasn't 'pushing' in Thailand .-- he had a good business there until a woman got hold of him and started to blackmail him. He lost his business and ended up on 'trumped up' charges because she thought he had more money than he really had. He had his passport taken away so he couldn't leave and went through unimaginable conditions because he could not 'pay off' this woman. She thought he had family who would bail him out but he didn't. He eventually got his passport back after months of living rough in the jungle and begging for rice and getting no help at all from previous 'friends'. He never did anything wrong in Thailand except fall for a woman who lied to get what she could. The Court even new that she was lying and told her to drop the charges...but all this took months to happen...and he paid a high price.

He may have had a good business but are you 100% sure it was not just a front?

Anyhow his "good business" was set up using funds from traffiking illegal drugs which makes him a criminal thus he is now en route to the right place for him to reside.

As for femi fan's anti drug law rant the laws of any country are set by the people's elected representatives. Just because you disagree with the law does not give you the right to ignore it. If you are robbed would you sympathise with the thief if he claimed he disagreed with the law against theft? What if the thief was doing the stealing to support his drug habit?

[grantbkk]

Was he pushing drugs in Thailand? Men In Brown need to follow-up on his connections in Thailand. How was he funding 18 months of living expenses in Thailand? Are his connections still at it?

That's a good one! Yes his connections are still at it in Thailand. I hope that answers you question. The BIB will not be following up. Ever!

[DeeMaiDee]

BIBs' are his connections!~!

[valentinob29]

Most wanted ? and he was in Kirkham prison > Kirkham is one of the most open of open prisons in the country, they have the keys to their room <deleted>. He would have been in a Cat A if he was considered so high a risk.

Another Brit a lot to go.

seems you have something against the brits.

I am not one myself, but I do think it is not fair to bash them in this pointless childish way.

I suppose you, like many are jealous of them, after all, it is they who shaped the world, and reason why you post in their language .Or are you thai and hate therm for bombing our/your city when you/we broke our promise?

The brits, unlike most, or all in asia do have a good justice system,( actually the best one in the world is Scottish)

This gentleman was in an open prison,

He cannot of been on most wanted status at this time, a system developed by nations who have some idea of progressive treatment towards people who wander of the path set down by it moral guardians.

[valentinob29]

Nice to see some are bored, not enough threads about the best sandwiches or burgers ever eaten, or how to ditch your thai girlfriend ?

Its good that one of the miserable dregs of society has been re captured all the same.

On the contrary, i think it's pathetic when we spend our time worrying about imprisoning people selling a drug that so many people want to take for their weekend leisure. Adults selling ecstasy to adults. Why should the state interfere with this transaction? Just what has it rightfully got to do with them?

If you want to get the 'miserable dregs of society' off the road, then go spend your energies getting most of our leaders into prison. They're the real criminals.

hello there

I/ we love you already....

the dregs...?eople who call people like that dregs are themselves much worse, they are losers, they are sheep, who love to pint the finger because they have failed in life..

and contribute zero to helping anyone, bar their own ego's

people should be allowed to do as they please, and agree or not, like it or not...they will, and always have done... so all this talk is completely pointless

[valentinob29]

It's a shame our world Justice Agencies still cannot pin down the real baddies, but at least they got this fool back.

they probably could if they stopped wasting so much time/money/energy on putting away people for stupid non crimes which suit the silly little hang 'em high bunch of losers

and, they got him back just for now.. which means sooner or later he will be back again, graduation from the best school of crime

better connected, more able, more angry- good result?

I beg to differ

[PhilHarries]

Whereas I might have sympathies for the users as being as much victims as anything this guy was/is a pusher. Maybe if some of these drug sympathisers had children that these kind of retards target as customers they would have a different outlook. But maybe it is fortunate if they don't have offspring, just another example of Darwinian selection removing defective genes from the pool.

[femi fan]

As for femi fan's anti drug law rant the laws of any country are set by the people's elected representatives. Just because you disagree with the law does not give you the right to ignore it. If you are robbed would you sympathise with the thief if he claimed he disagreed with the law against theft? What if the thief was doing the stealing to support his drug habit?

It wasn't a rant. You ought to be aware that most countries' drug laws are effectively set by the USA. Thailand is such a country.

You've taken my comments out of the context with which i made them. This man is far less dangerous to society than those that run society. The real criminals are those elected representatives you talk about.

And you're also wrong in another way: if i disagree with a law, i have every right to ignore it, so long as i cause no-one any harm in doing so.

I've been robbed before, what's your point here? It's a useless analogy.

[femi fan]

As for femi fan's anti drug law rant the laws of any country are set by the people's elected representatives. Just because you disagree with the law does not give you the right to ignore it. If you are robbed would you sympathise with the thief if he claimed he disagreed with the law against theft? What if the thief was doing the stealing to support his drug habit?

It wasn't a rant. You ought to be aware that most countries' drug laws are effectively set by the USA. Thailand is such a country.

You've taken my comments out of the context with which i made them. This man is far less dangerous to society than those that run society. The real criminals are those elected representatives you talk about.

And you're also wrong in another way: if i disagree with a law, i have every right to ignore it, so long as i cause no-one any harm in doing so.

I've been robbed before, what's your point here? It's a useless analogy.

[valentinob29]

Whereas I might have sympathies for the users as being as much victims as anything this guy was/is a pusher. Maybe if some of these drug sympathisers had children that these kind of retards target as customers they would have a different outlook. But maybe it is fortunate if they don't have offspring, just another example of Darwinian selection removing defective genes from the pool.

but so many do, another enlightened theory invalidated...

most of my regular drug using friends have children.

And I think most of their children do okay because they are taught, from day one, the dangers of abuse.

And I have never really seen nor heard of what you call a pusher.Have you? Have you honestly seen these so called "evil men" go up to kids and force them to take something against their will? Has anyone?

I will answer that for you- no! It simply does not happen that way.

It is supply due to demand.

Another little fact- the demand was there since day one and will always be there.

And we will never progress 1 inch until we completely rethink how to deal with this

[femi fan]

Whereas I might have sympathies for the users as being as much victims as anything this guy was/is a pusher. Maybe if some of these drug sympathisers had children that these kind of retards target as customers they would have a different outlook. But maybe it is fortunate if they don't have offspring, just another example of Darwinian selection removing defective genes from the pool.

Those blinkers you are wearing are quality!

[BigSnake]

Good one lest Thailand don't have to worry about.

[Maigo6]

Most wanted ? and he was in Kirkham prison > Kirkham is one of the most open of open prisons in the country, they have the keys to their room <deleted>. He would have been in a Cat A if he was considered so high a risk.

Jeez, hardly likely to be Cat A for drugs......he's hardly a risk to national security.

Yes HMP Kirkham is Cat D and many drug related offenders spend time in Cat D before thier release date, HMP Ford, also a D Cat, had many and also lifers coming off very long sentences, the only prisoners you couldn't have in HMP Ford were rapists or arsonists.

I have not read all the posts but it does seem a little silly of the guy to do a bunk from a Cat D, when he would probably be due for early release anyway, even on HDC ( Home detention Curfew }, now he's totally screwed up his chances of ever getting Cat D again...

Oh well.................. what do I know.