70-year-old drug dealer caught after a decade on the run

A drug dealer who's been on the run for almost a decade has been caught after being found at a beach resort in Bulgaria.

70-year-old Michael Hogan was part of a four-strong group of men linked to a cannabis haul worth almost £400,000 uncovered at a flat in Acocks Green back in June 2007.

Three men were caught at the time and later jailed for a total 16 years.

But Hogan – whose fingerprints were found on drugs packaging and a cannabis press at the Tavistock Road flat – managed to dodge numerous arrest attempts by police before fleeing the country to Dublin.

A European Arrest Warrant was issued in his name but drew a blank until 2 August this year when Hogan, formally of Waltdene Close in Great Barr, was detained near his home in the Black Sea resort of Varna.

He was returned to the UK and, after admitting possessing drugs with intent to supply, he was jailed for four years and eight months.

Bulgarian authorities were alerted to Hogan’s movements when he tried to renew an ID card near his home address.

He later admitted travelling to Ireland, and moving on to Spain, before hiding out in Bulgaria.