Agency tracks drugs fugitive to South America

A NEWCASTLE man has been tracked down and arrested in Colombia.

- By ANNETTE BELCHER Reporter

Two British men, including Robert Taylor, from Newcastle, have been arrested in the South American country following an investigation led by the National Crime Agency.

Taylor was wanted by Northumbria Police after he was sentenced in his absence in February 2024 to seven-and-a-half years in prison for drugs offences and money laundering.

Liam O’Brien, of Liverpool, was also wanted by the NCA as part of an investigation into the supply of Class A drugs and firearms.

O’Brien, 41, of Leyfield Road, West Derby, and Taylor, 54, of Exeter Road, Wallsend, were arrested at a property in Medellin, Colombia's second largest city, on Wednesday.