One of UK’s most wanted men arrested as he tried to flee Portugal on false passport

Alex Male, of Weston-super-Mare in Somerset, is alleged to have been a regional distributor of class A drugs

Alex Mare was arrested at Lisbon airport on Saturday (Avon and Somerset Police / SWNS)

One of the UK’s most wanted men has been arrested after trying to fly to Portugal using a fraudulent passport.

Alex Male, 29, of Weston-super-Mare in Somerset, is alleged to have been a regional distributor of class A drugs across the south west of England. He allegedly bought and sold the drugs using an EncroChat encrypted communications network.

The National Crime Agency (NCA) said his arrest was a “fantastic result”.

Mr Male was detained at Lisbon Airport on Saturday after arriving on a flight from Turkey where he had been refused entry, according to the NCA.

The crime agency had added Mr Male to its most wanted appeal in January. He is accused of conspiracy to supply cocaine and ketamin, money laundering and conspiracy to acquire a firearm as part of drug-dealing activity.

Alex Male has been arrested on suspicion of suppling class A drugs (NCA)

NCA international liaison officer Phil Robinson said: “Male naively believed he could travel across international borders using fraudulent documentation and remain undetected by law enforcement.

“But he underestimated the vigilance and expertise of the Turkish border police, which enabled the Portuguese authorities to act.

“Any arrest of a fugitive is a fantastic result, even more so since Male had only recently been added to our most wanted list.

“He is wanted in connection with dangerous crimes, which have a devastating impact on communities, so I’m delighted he has been caught.

“We continue to work with our international partners to close the net around fugitives, no matter where they are.”

Mr Male had been on the run after failing to follow to the bail restrictions imposed following his arrest.

He was previously thought to be in the Marbella area of Spain before moving to Portugal.

He remains in custody and will now face extradition proceedings.

Detective Inspector Adrian Hawkins of the South West regional organised crime unit (SW ROCU) said: “Male will now be returned to the criminal justice system in the UK to face the charges he ran away from.

“This is an example of international law enforcement working together to ensure justice can be done and demonstrating there is nowhere safe to hide.”