FOR almost a decade police around the world were on the hunt for Piotr Kupiec.

He was wanted on suspicion of murder and attempted murder, and was also said to be part of a gang that was targeted by a major police operation.

At one point British police even arrested the wrong man.

But it turns out the 28-year-old Polish man was a lot closer than cops thought.

Authorities tracked him to a small Subway restaurant in Devizes, a town in Wiltshire in southwest England, where he had been working for several months.

It is just metres from a police station that was frequented by officers who bought lunch there every day.

Local police made the arrest last week in front of his shocked colleagues and customers.

Kupiec was listed on the International Police Crime Organisation’s (Interpol) list of most wanted criminals in connection with a murder investigation.

The description states that he was born in 1987 and is wanted for ‘injury causing death/manslaughter/murder’ as well as ‘assault/maltreatement’ and theft.

Reports in his native Poland claim Kupiec was part of a gang in Krakow that had been busted by a major police operation called Infra Red.

Members who weren’t arrested allegedly escaped abroad — like Kupiec, who was found 1,100 miles from his home.

It is understood that he had worked at Subway for some time and was also a member of a local gym.

Kupiec’s colleagues and others who knew him were shocked by the allegations against him.

One person who knew him said he was a ‘friendly’ man who was liked by everyone.

Kupiec had joined a local gym and, by all accounts, gave no indication of the secret he was hiding.

A gym employee said he didn’t talk to many people and would train early in the mornings.

“He looks pretty much exactly the same as he does in the photos.”

It’s thought he could have lived in the area for at least four years.

Polish media report he had been wanted by police since August 2008 in connection with an incident at a football match the previous year.

A violent brawl reportedly broke out in the crowd and he was wanted on suspicion of murder and attempted murder.

One customer told The Guardian: “He’s served me so many times. He’s worked in Subway for two years at least. He was very friendly.”

Subway tried to gag his former co-workers from speaking about him, but one told The Guardian he seemed “pretty decent”.

“Loads of people went there and would chat away as normal to him.”

In a strange twist, British police actually arrested a Piotr Kupiec last year. Both were Polish men born the same year, but their birthday was different.

Even stranger was an open letter his mother published in Poland asking him to return and hand himself in — but police believe a reference to the Polish writer Stefan Żeromski could have been a hidden message warning him to stay away.

A Subway spokeswoman confirmed a member of staff had been arrested and insisted he provided valid documents when he was hired.

The arrest put the spotlight on the intelligence unit at Wiltshire police HQ, which is managed by Detective Inspector Matt Davey.

He said his team deals with arrest warrants passed to them by the National Crime Agency when it is believed a wanted individual is living in Wiltshire.

He said: “This is clearly a good result for not just the intelligence team but the whole force.”

He added that in 2015, the unit was sent details of 17 people with European Arrest Warrants against them and seven arrests were made.