Warrington man arrested in Spain by National Crime Agency

Robert Brazendale, who is believed to be of the Thelwall area, was detained by the Spanish national police on the Costa del Sol yesterday, Tuesday.

His arrest comes after an AK47 assault rifle was discovered hidden at a commercial premises in Warrington back in April when officers executed a search warrant, although the NCA would not disclose where in the town this raid took place.

The 33-year-old was held on a European Arrest Warrant on suspicion of conspiracy to possess firearms and ammunition with intent to endanger life and has been remanded into custody awaiting extradition proceedings.

Brazendale after his arrest on the Costa del Sol

Three other men were arrested across the north west of England as part of a coordinated series of strikes under Operation Venetic, which took down EncroChat – the global encrypted communications used by criminals in order to keep their illicit dealings undetected – earlier this year.

Hitesh Patel, of Chester, Bilal Khan and Umair Zaheer, both of Manchester, have since been charged with the same offences Brazendale has been arrested on suspicion of.

The trio – aged 26, 32 and 33 respectively – were due to appear before Manchester Magistrates Court today, Wednesday.

The AK47 seized by police in Warrington

Their arrests concerned the seizure of Uzi and Skorpion submachine guns, 300 rounds of ammunition, £180,000 in cash and a kilogram of cocaine at an address in London in April and a second AK47 in Manchester in June.

NCA operation manager Neil Gardner said: “The arrests by the NCA and Spanish national police are the latest in a long line made since Operation Venetic was announced in July this year.

“As part of this investigation, the NCA and our policing partners have removed some of the most deadly firearms that exist.

“We will continue to target offenders who bring firearms into our communities.”