Police appeal for help to track 'Costa del Crime' suspects

Police are appealing for help to track 10 suspected criminals hiding on the "Costa del Crime".

Investigators want the public to help them trace fugitives thought to be on the run in the Costa del Sol region of Spain.

Among those on the latest "most wanted" list are men suspected of robbery, child sex offences, drug smuggling and violence.

They include Liverpool heroin smuggler Joseph Morley, 46, who disappeared while on licensed day release during a 15-year prison sentence.

Others are suspected child rapist Martin Smith, 44, from Tyneside, convicted child sex offender Stephen Burnell, 56, of Scunthorpe, and suspected Manchester jewellery robbery Benjamin Murphy.

Details of all 10 men will be posted by Crimestoppers on a "most wanted" website targeting the region.

Several Spanish coastal resorts have been dubbed the Costa del Crime since the 1970s because hundreds of wanted British criminals are thought to have fled there.

The Serious Organised Crime Agency (Soca) and the Spanish police authorities are also involved in the move, codenamed Operation Captura.

Several waves of appeals, first launched in October 2006, have led to the arrest of 23 out of 40 suspects.

Dave Cording, of Crimestoppers, warned people not to approach the suspects as they could be dangerous.

He said: "These appeals include some very nasty individuals and crimes, and we need you, the public, to help us put them behind bars where they belong.

Dame Denise Holt, British Ambassador to Spain, said: "Ten new criminals who we think are hiding out on the Costas have been identified.

"The public and media response to the ongoing Captura campaign has been incredibly effective so far.

"We're looking for your continuing help in putting these individuals behind bars where they belong."

Lord Ashcroft, founder of Crimestoppers, said the response of the public to previous appeals has "gone way beyond our expectations."

He said: "It makes me immensely proud as the founder of Crimestoppers that we are now having such a significant impact on an international scale."

Anyone with information about those named by Crimestoppers should call 0800 555 111 in the UK or 900 555 111 in Spain.