Spanish police on Thursday said they had arrested one of Britain’s most-wanted fugitives after snuffing out a drug trafficking and forgery group concealed in the famed beach resort of Benidorm.
The investigation began in November 2025 after a UK-bound suitcase containing 16 kilograms (35 pounds) of hashish was found at a postal service company in Benidorm, police said in a statement.
Subsequent searches identified a group that used forged documents to try and transfer the illicit contents, including a 49-year-old targeted by an international arrest warrant issued in 2025.
He’s been named in the UK press as Simon Dutton, featured on the UK National Crime Agency’s latest ‘Most Wanted’ list.
The UK’s 2026 ‘Most Wanted’ criminals list. Image: National Crime Agency
Police raids in Benidorm and the nearby locality of La Nucia led to his arrest and that of three other people.
The operation, which involved Britain’s National Crime Agency, also seized more drugs, €4,000 ($4,668) in cash and fake documents.
Spain’s sun-bathed Mediterranean coast is a haven for foreign fugitives — many of them British and Irish — who are drawn by high living standards and international drug trafficking routes.
READ MORE: Costa del Crime – Why Spain is home to many foreign criminals and fugitives
On Thursday, the UK’s National Crime Agency (NCA) and the Crimestoppers organisation asked for help from the Spanish Ministry of the Interior and presented their ‘Most Wanted 2026’ campaign in Alicante, given that they believe some of these twelve criminals could be hiding among Spain’s large British communities.
If you’ve seen any of the men in the above image, you can contact either Spanish National Police by dialling 091, contact Spanish Guardia Civil on 062, or preferably call the number for this particular crime-stopping campaign: 900 926 111.
With additional reporting by The Local’s Alex Dunham
