20-year-long manhunt for UK fugitive ends in Pretoria

A fugitive from the United Kingdom wanted by Interpol for various crimes was arrested in Hatfield last week, reports Pretoria East Rekord.

Brandon William Pyatt was apprehended by the SAPS, who had received information that he was in the area.

This according to national police spokesperson Brigadier Vishnu Naidoo.

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“Pyatt appeared in the Pretoria Magistrate’s Court last week, and his matter has been adjourned for an extradition hearing,” said Naidoo.

The case was postponed to April 15.

Naidoo said the 64-year-old man was reportedly also wanted in connection with a theft of motor vehicle case in Durban.

According to the National Crime Agency, a UK law enforcement agency, police were acting on information they had supplied as part of an operation to track down fugitives outside UK borders.

“Pyatt was convicted of a series of fraud and deception offences at Chester Crown Court in 1998 and sentenced to five years in prison,” the agency said in a statement.

“However Pyatt, who is originally from Droylsden in Manchester, skipped bail during his trial and fled the UK, sparking a manhunt that lasted more than two decades.”

“Pyatt is believed to have gone abroad immediately after he failed to return to court, and continued to evade the authorities using a series of false identities.”

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