After nine years on the run, Spanish police announced Tuesday that they had apprehended Britain’s most wanted woman, Sarah Panitzke, has been apprehended by Spanish Police after nine years of hiding.
The fugitive, identified as, 47, by the UK’s National Crime Agency, was apprehended by Guardia Civil police on Sunday while walking her dogs in Santa Barbara village, between Barcelona and Valencia.
Panitzke has been wanted for money laundering offenses since 2013 as part of a 16-person criminal gang that purchased mobile phones abroad without VAT and resold them in the UK.
According to police and the NCA, the gang made “more than £1 billion” (1.2 billion euros/$1.3 billion) in profits.
Panitzke, who was born in Fulford, near the northern English city of York, vanished in May 2013 before being convicted and sentenced in absentia to eight years in prison.
She was the last member of the gang to be apprehended, and the other members were sentenced to a total of 135 years in prison, according to the NCA.
HMRC tax authorities in the United Kingdom said she was responsible for laundering all of the group’s income through multiple companies in Spain, the tiny principality of Andorra, and Dubai.
According to the Guardia Civil, the gang sold more mobile phones in the UK than all legal outlets combined, citing British investigators.
Police discovered her in Olivella, just south of Barcelona, in 2015, with her husband bringing supplies on weekends.
But when she realized the cops were on her tail, she “completely changed her appearance and fled,” later severing all physical ties with her family to avoid detection.
After being tipped off that she might be in Santa Barbara in February, they tracked her down for the next seven years. Police spotted a woman “who clearly had the same physical characteristics” after a lengthy surveillance operation.
This time, they sent out multiple agents dressed in civilian clothes to ensure she didn’t flee again.
“Sarah Panitzke was one of the UK’s most wanted tax evaders.” “She was central to a multi-million pound VAT fraud, moving millions through offshore bank accounts,” said Simon York, head of HMRC’s fraud investigation service, in a statement.
“Panitzke thought she’d put herself out of HMRC’s reach, but… no tax evader is beyond our reach.”
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