Baby-faced murder suspect is latest 'most-wanted' Brit to be nabbed in a week

THREE of the country's most wanted fugitives have been found in the space of a week.

Baby-faced Liverpool fugitive David Ungi, 30, (above in old police mugshot) who is wanted in connection with the murder of Vinny Waddington, 18, in Liverpool in 2015, was arrested in Malaga on Thursday night.

It came after alleged murderer Callum Halpin was caught in Portugal on Monday, and Alex Male, wanted on drugs charges, was arrested at Lisbon airport last Saturday.

Ungi was arrested with three other men as he entered a gym at a shopping centre in Coin, Malaga, as part of a joint operation involving the British and Spanish authorities.

Officers seized a 9mm Ruger firearm and ammunition from a rucksack.

A National Crime Agency (NCA) spokesman said: "Ungi (above after his arrest) is the third most wanted target captured in the last week – alleged murderer Callum Halpin was caught in Portugal on Monday, and Alex Male, wanted on drugs charges, was arrested at Lisbon airport on Saturday."

Ungi left the UK less than 24 hours after Vinny Waddington was killed in 2015.

Vinny was shot at through a car window and rammed off his motorbike on Banks Road in Garston.

Two men were convicted of the 18 year-old’s murder in 2016.

Ungi is also wanted in connection with the supply of heroin in the Liverpool area.

Halpin, 27, (above) is wanted in connection with the murder of dad-of-two Luke Graham, 31, a drug dealer who was shot dead in broad daylight, and the attempted murder of Anton Verigotta at the same time in Ashton-under-Lyme in June 2018.

Male, 29, was detained at Lisbon Airport on April 30 having just arrived on a flight from Turkey, where he had been refused entry a few hours earlier after Turkish border police suspected he had a false passport.

Male, of Weston-super-Mare, (below) is believed to have used encrypted communications platform EncroChat to distribute class A drugs across the South West and is also accused of money laundering and conspiring to acquire a firearm.

Extradition proceedings are underway for all three who were in the NCA most wanted list currently subject to a Crimestoppers appeal.

Steve Reynolds, National Crime Agency regional manager in Spain, said: “Three of the UK’s most wanted fugitives being arrested in a week is a fantastic achievement.

“These arrests would not have been possible without close cooperation between police forces in the UK and our law enforcement colleagues in Spain and Portugal.

“There are still a number of fugitives on our most wanted list, and they should know we will never give up and we’re never far behind them.”

Lord Ashcroft, founder and chair of the charity Crimestoppers, said: “Having this fugitive caught within days of two others is fantastic news and shows that the public, like us, want to protect our communities.

"It also proves how our joint Most Wanted campaign with the NCA to highlight those who are on the run is working successfully."