THERE are “no safe havens” for Scots mob fugitives to hide out in, global policing bosses have warned.
An Interpol chief told how increasing cooperation between its 196 members means it’s much harder for hoods to outrun the law.
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And that could be bad news for the likes of Derek ‘Deco’ Ferguson, 59, who cops have been wanting to quiz over two Glasgow murders since 2007.
Yaron Gottlieb, Interpol’s legal affairs director, pointed to the capture of Irishman Sean McGovern, 37, a key member of the Kinahan cartel which has links to Scots gangs.
He was nabbed last month in Dubai after Irish authorities requested an Interpol ‘Red Notice’, which UAE police then responded to.
And Mr Gottlieb believes this could have major consequences for others attempting to evade justice in foreign boltholes.
He said: “This sends a loud signal to criminals around the world — there is no safe haven.
“You thought you were safe in the UAE but you’re not.
“More and more countries now recognise the Red Notice.
We have a significant number in place involving organised criminal activity. We will continue publishing them.”
His warning follows a raft of arrests on foreign soil of notorious Scots hoods thanks to Red Notices.
They include James ‘The Don’ White, who was nicked in Brazil in 2020.
And we told how drugs gang kingpin Jamie ‘Iceman’ Stevenson, 59, was arrested in the Netherlands in February 2020 while jogging with Dean Ferguson, 30 — son of ‘Deco’.
Stevenson was last month caged for 20 years over his bid to smuggle cocaine from Ecuador in banana shipments.
His case was highlighted by National Crime Agency supremo Graeme Biggar as an example of international cooperation.
The Director General revealed Stevenson had been the subject of a “Red Diffusion” notice.
Suspects on the Wanted List
DEREK ‘DECO’ FERGUSON – Wanted for questioning in connection with two murders, including the slaying of Thomas Cameron, 49, who was shot dead in June 2007 at the Auchinairn Tavern, Bishopbriggs, near Glasgow. Cops also want to grill Ferguson, 59, over the killing a month later of gangland enforcer Billy Joe Bates, 42, whose body was stuffed in an oil drum then dumped in the River Clyde.
HARRIS BINOTTI – Fled to Scotland after Gary Ferguson, 47, of Northern Ireland, was slain in Myanmar. Teacher, 33, is in Glasgow but won’t be extradited on human rights grounds.
JONATHON KELLY – Violent thug went on the run after his licence was revoked while on parole. Has served jail terms totalling 16 years for numerous attacks with knives and a machete.
JAMES & BARRY GILLESPIE – Gang bosses vanished in Brazil in 2019 while wanted in connection with organised crime rackets. James, 51, and brother Barry, 47, haven’t been seen alive since and Scots cops have told their loved ones they may have come to harm. James ‘The Don’ White declared he was taking over their empire.
STEPHEN JAMIESON – Sources say the associate of Jamie ‘Iceman’ Stevenson is hiding out in Dubai. Glasgow hood, 41, was jailed for eight years in 2009 for dealing cocaine and freed four years later.
ZANDER SUTHERLAND – Son of late mob boss Jamie Daniel fled prison in April and was on run for 75 days. Heroin dealer, 35, was snared in Norway. Now in Oslo jail awaiting extradition.
This is a request circulated between countries rather than all 196 Interpol members.
Mr Biggar explained: “We’d been confident Stevenson was in Spain. We put out a Red Diffusion to try to find him.
“We then caught up with him in the Netherlands.
“He wasn’t picked up at the border as he had a fraudulently obtained genuine passport, which we’d spotted in a separate probe.
Read more on the Scottish Sun
“That’s a cracking example of how international cooperation and the NCA can make a difference in Scotland.”
Ferguson was jailed for six years, four months in January for the culpable homicide of Billy Joe Bates, 28, in 2018.
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