One of Britain’s most wanted fugitives, a cousin of the footballer Steven Gerrard, has handed himself in after complaining that the pressure of life on the run had become too much.



Robert Stephen Gerrard had been on the run for three years after a raid on a Dutch cafe uncovered a suspected international drug trafficking operations centre. He was accused of trying to smuggle £60m worth of cocaine into the UK and was wanted by the UK’s National Crime Agency (NCA).

The 53-year-old, a second cousin of the former England international but known to him as “Uncle Bobby”, was one of nine fugitives suspected of being in the Netherlands.

After being on the run since October 2013, this week Gerrard made arrangements through his solicitor to hand himself in to NCA officers at Manchester’s Central Park police station.

Gerrard was charged with conspiracy to import cocaine over alleged links to the drug network uncovered in raids on the infamous Cafe de Ketel in Rotterdam. The cafe, which could only be entered via a buzzer system, was allegedly used as a meeting place for criminals to negotiate with cartel members and arrange the financing and transportation of drugs.

NCA officers believe Gerrard, who could not be found at the time of the raid, used the cafe as part of a plot to import large quantities of cocaine into the UK.

Gerrard is the third British fugitive arrested in less than a week, after the capture of a suspected paedophile, Matthew Sammon, and a convicted rapist, Mohammed Alam, 33, both in Spain.

Gerrard’s mugshot featured in Operation Captura, a campaign to capture Britain’s most wanted alleged criminals, many of them on the Costa del Sol, and he was highlighted in another campaign, Operation Return, in the Netherlands.

Greg McKenna, regional head of investigations for the NCA, said: “Robert Gerrard handing himself in shows the impact we are having with our most wanted campaigns. Three arrests in under a week is a tremendous result.

“We don’t know at this stage how long Gerrard has been back in the UK for, but he told our officers that the pressure of being on the run had got too much for him.

“The fugitives on our most wanted list really do have nowhere to hide. I would urge any of the remaining ones to take note – save yourself the trouble and hand yourself in because we will never stop hunting you and you will face justice.”

As part of Operation Return, Gerrard’s picture appeared in the news both in the UK and overseas. NCA officers were pursuing him with the help of Dutch police, following up leads on suspected hideouts in the Netherlands and the UK.

Roger Critchell, director of operations for Crimestoppers, said: “The fact Robert Gerrard handed himself in to police is again an indication that when the pressure mounts, hiding places become harder to find.

“This is a great result as it follows two fugitive arrests in the last week from our sister campaign targeting those on the run in Spain. These campaigns really do work.”

Gerrard appeared at Manchester magistrates court on Wednesday afternoon. He was remanded in custody until his next hearing at Manchester crown court on 23 November.