National Crime Agency reveals how they caught Nottinghamshire 'drugs kingpin'

• Watch footage from Guardia Civil and EuroPol of Dawes' arrest in Spain after police raided his home

The National Crime Agency has released a podcast detailing how they caught some of Britain's biggest criminals, as the agency marks its tenth anniversary.

The first episode is dedicated to the case of Robert Dawes, a Nottinghamshire "drug kingpin" who is currently serving a 22-year jail sentence in a French prison.

Dawes, from Sutton-in-Ashfield, was convicted in 2018 at the age of 46. He was jailed for helping to import 1.3 tonnes of cocaine into France on a flight from Venezuela in 2013.

At the time, the NCA told ITV News that Dawes had worked with "top-level criminals" in Columbian cartels and the Italian mafia.

Matt Horne, NCA deputy director, said: "Robert Dawes is a very significant criminal and we know that him and his crime group are associated with serious violence, and there have been offences in the UK and internationally, involving beatings, shootings and even murder that are associated with his crime group."

Titled "The Crime Lord", the episode, presented by investigative journalist Ellie Flynn "delves into the life and crimes of Robert Dawes, who trafficked huge shipments of drugs from South America to Europe" and "will reveal how Dawes was finally arrested after an NCA investigation and a seizure of over a tonne of cocaine."

Graeme Biggar, director general of the NCA, said: "The ten-year anniversary is a huge milestone for the Agency and launching this podcast allows us to give the public exclusive access to some of our most notorious cases over the last decade.

"Our mission is to protect the public from serious and organised crime.

"The threat evolves, as organised crime groups capitalise on new online opportunities, global conflict and cost of living pressures to inflict harm and evade justice.

"We use our world-leading intelligence and investigative capabilities to shut down serious and organised crime and help keep the UK public safe from its devastating harms.

"Hearing about these cases from our experienced officers allows us, for the first time, to show the public how we keep communities safe.

"The cases demonstrate how we relentlessly pursue the criminals who pose the greatest threat to people and communities in the UK, disrupting their operations and bringing them to justice."

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