Fresh Appeal To Find Brit Fugitive Hiding In Spain
A British fugitive wanted for the slaying of a man shot dead in a pub car park is being hunted by police in Spain who have made a fresh appeal for information to the public.
Suspect Derek McGraw Ferguson, 59, is wanted by the British National Crime Agency (NCA) over the murder of barman Thomas Cameron in 2007 at the Auchinairn Tavern, near Glasgow.
It is unclear where Ferguson is hiding, but Spanish National Police made a fresh appeal for information on their Twitter profile yesterday (24th April), saying: “It is important to find Derek Mcgraw Ferguson.”
They went on to describe him as “dangerous and armed.”
Asked if the appeal made yesterday was because the cops had new evidence he was in Spain, a Spanish police spokesman declined to comment but confirmed it was connected to an earlier statement that he was one of 10 wanted fugitives that they believed could be hiding in the country.
Although they gave no details, the new appeal by Spanish cops is no surprise to insiders as it would not be the first time that a British fugitive hid in Spain, especially in Costa del Sol or Costa Blanca with places like Malaga or Benidorm among the popular cities to hide out among thousands of other English speakers.
The appeal in Spain comes after more than a decade of searches have failed to turn up any trace of the man dubbed one of Britain’s most wanted men.
The victim, Thomas Cameron, 49 at the time of his death, reportedly left the pub where he worked at around 7pm to speak to two men in a car park.
But the father of three was shot and died a few minutes later.
The NCA says on its website of Ferguson: “He has green/blue eyes and short balding brown/grey hair.”
British police offered a GBP 10,000 reward last year for information leading to Ferguson’s arrest.
Spanish police also said that people with information should email them at an email specifically set up to find Ferguson and nine others – losmasbuscados@policia.es – which means “most wanted”.
When the email address and appeal for information was made public last year, Newsflash obtained a statement from the police that they confirmed again today (Tuesday, 25th April) saying: “Fugitives with different criminal profiles have been included in the most wanted list, some of them wanted and captured for more than 15 years, and who could be hiding in our country.”
They appealed to citizens to help locate the wanted criminals, saying: “Citizen collaboration can be decisive for their location, which is why a specific email address, losmasbuscados@policia.es, has been set up so that citizens who believe they have any information that could lead to their location can communicate it to the investigators in a confidential manner.”
They explained: “International collaboration has been key to locating many of them, collaboration materialized through tools such as the European Network of Active Fugitive Search Teams -ENFAST-, available 24 hours a day, seven days a week, to undertake immediate action aimed at locating and arresting fugitives.
“During the year 2022, the National Police chairs the ENFAST network, made up of police officers from the 27 countries of the European Union and other associated countries such as the United States, Switzerland or Norway. The evolution of this unit and the excellent results have made it possible to position the National Police and Spain as leaders in arrests in Europe, which has led to the Fugitive Location Section assuming the presidency of ENFAST.”