The Federal Police say that the Flemish fugitive Sven Verhoene has been arrested in Spain. On Tuesday, the East Flanders Public Prosecutor's Office and the police had placed the 56-year-old on the list of Belgium and the European Union's most wanted criminals.
Sven Verhoene was sentenced in 2011 at the Court of Appeal in Antwerp to 5 years’ imprisonment prison and a further ten years’ probation under the supervision of the Sentence Enforcement Court for rape. An international wanted notice for Sven Verhoene’s arrest has been in circulation since last year as has a red notice from Interpol.
Earlier this week, the East Flanders Public Prosecutor's Office issued a wanted notice referring to his conviction and fugitive status. It is not yet known how and when he fled.
He was finally arrested in the late on Thursday afternoon afternoon by officers from the Spanish National Police. The operation was made possible thanks to the excellent cooperation between the Wetteren-Laarne-Wichelen Local Police Service, the Federal Police's Fugitive Active Search Team (FAST) and the East Flanders Public Prosecutor's Office, as by use of the European FAST network (ENFAST) and valuable information provided by member of the public following Sven Verhoene’s inclusion on the most wanted list.
The public prosecutor's office will now request the Sven Verhoene’s return to Belgium.