Police detain sought-after British criminal in Málaga

Police announced on Sunday that they had arrested one of Britain's most wanted criminals near Málaga, on the Costa del Sol. Dean Lawrence Rice, 49, was apprehended in Alhaurín on Wednesday, just two days after the media disseminated his picture as part of a British crime-stopping campaign that requested the help of citizens toidentify criminals hiding in Spain.

According to the crime-fighting charity Crimestoppers, Rice, a native of Exeter, was sentenced to life in prison in 2006 for kidnapping one of his employees after the latter quit his job. While on the run, he also used the names Dean Borton, Steven Greenfield and Dean Rice.

Even though Rice lived as a recluse in a rural area of Alhaurín and barely left his house, somebody recognized him after seeing his photograph. On February 23, agents from a special organized crime unit stormed his house at nine in the morning.

"He is extremely dangerous and that is why special units intervened, including the GRECO (Special Response Group against Organized Crime), who participated in the investigation," police sources said.

Rice was the second wanted criminal to be apprehended in 48 hours after authorities published the list of Britain's 10 Most Wanted as part of Crimestopper's "Operation Captura." The first was Everardus Wijtvliet, a 29-year-old Dutchman who was wanted on drug trafficking charges.

In 2008, British authorities also asked Britons living on the Mediterranean coast to cooperate in the search for the numerous criminals thought to have fled Britain for Spain over the years.