ONE OF the UK’s most wanted fugitives, Shane O’Brien, has been arrested in Romania.
The 31-year-old was apprehended in Cluj Napoca on Saturday, April 23rd by officers from the Romanian National Police.
Footage of the moment O’Brien was apprehended was later uploaded to Twitter.
He appeared in court in Romania the following day and was later remanded in custody.
It follows a four-year manhunt for O’Brien, who is from Ladbrokes Grove but has family links back in Ireland.
He is wanted by the Metropolitan Police Service in connection with the murder of Josh Hanson at a bar in Hillingdon, London back in October 2015
Hanson, from Kingsbury, died after being fatally stabbed in the unprovoked incident at the RE Bar in Eastcote.
O’Brien cut his long hair short and fled the country on a private plane immediately after.
It is thought that he spent time in the Netherlands, Czech Republic, Dubai and Germany reportedly spending time in local boxing gyms and nightclubs.
Detectives believed he was helped by criminal associates who provided him with money, false identifies and the means to move across borders.
O’Brien had been the subject of an international manhunt involving the National Crime Agency, the MPS and law enforcement agencies across Europe ever since.
He was placed on Interpol’s worldwide Most Wanted list back in May while a £50,000 reward was offered for his capture.
“O’Brien has spent several years looking over his shoulder as he has been at the centre of an extensive operation to track him down,” Ian Cruxton, Head of International Operations for the NCA, said
“I’m delighted that the pressure brought to bear by this has finally resulted in him being captured as a result of close working with the Romanian authorities.
“I hope his arrest offers some comfort to the family and friends of Josh Hanson.”
Reacting to the news, the Josh Hanson Trust, a charity set up in the wake of his death, tweeted out a message of thanks to the officer DCI Noel McHugh, the officer investigating the case.
Another tweet read: “Today on the 23rd of March 2019 and after 3 and a half years of waiting today is Josh’s day,” one tweet read.
