Wrocław’s “headhunters” stopped Rafał Z., ps. Coyote, in Spain, hiding for 22 years. A man is suspected of murder, prostitution, drug trafficking and explosives. The detention was possible thanks to police cooperation between Poland and Spain, in peculiar through the European network ENFAST, which deals with the search for the most dangerous criminals.
The communicative of Rafał Z. began in the late 1990s, erstwhile a man from the Kuyavian-Pomeranian Voivodeship was accused of inciting and benefiting from prostitution of Polish citizens who were exported to Sweden. Later, “Kojot” moved to Lower Silesia, where he became active with local criminals from the territory of Jeleniogórski.
The National Prosecutor's Office in Wrocław accused him of gaining an asset in connection with the turnover of crucial amounts of drugs and the production of explosives. The climax was on August 5, 2003, erstwhile Robert Sz. was shot at during gangster fights and Rafał Z. was the fishy in the assassination. The man fled to France, and the prosecution in Jelenia Góra issued a BOLO for him.
The search was handled by police from Wrocław, nevertheless Rafał Z. broke all household and social contacts in Poland, which made the investigation difficult. "Based on the experience gained during his activities in criminal structures and the many contacts he had, he rapidly and efficiently organized his life outside Poland," the Police office noted.
After respective years, Wrocław's “headhunters” came after Rafal Z. in Spain. Following a thread to the ball, they found that the wanted individual was utilizing a fresh identity (persons of another nationality) and committed crimes in Spain. Finally, in August 2021, he was detained by the Spanish police. At the time of the extradition procedure, the court took a precautionary measurement in the form of police supervision. However, Rafał Z. disobeyed the court's orders and began to hide again.
The search began again. Polish policemen, in cooperation with Spanish colleagues from Policía Nacional, agreed that Rafał Z. moved and hid in east Spain – in Valencia. On February 20th morning, Rafał Z. was detained by a specialized search squad from Madrid (FAST Spain). The man was amazed by the detention as he changed his appearance and identity after leaving custody in 2021.
Rafał Z. was wanted not only by Polish, but besides by Spanish law enforcement authorities for crimes he committed in both countries. Now he will answer to the Spanish justice system, and then he will be subjected to extradition procedure to release it to the Polish side. The detention of Rafał Z. is simply a large success of Polish police and European police cooperation, which allowed to halt a dangerous criminal after 22 years of escape.
Continued here:
Headhunters: How the Lower Silesian Police stopped the Dangerous Criminal after 22 Years of Escape
