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Justice at last for Leeds counterfeiter who went on the run
A Leeds counterfeiter jailed in his absence for eight years was officially handed his sentence yesterday after being brought back from Spain following four years on the run.
Ronald William Priestley, 69, was arrested last month in Malaga on the Spanish coast once dubbed "Costa del Crime" because of its criminal expat community.
He had been sentenced after he failed to appear before Leeds Crown Court in 2005 where he had been convicted of conspiring to counterfeit 20 banknotes with a face value of 4.25m.
Priestley had been detained by an international arrest warrant issued as part of the crime-fighting charity Crimestoppers' Operation Captura, which has identified criminals living in Spain wanted in the UK. Crimestoppers and the Serious Organised Crime Agency work closely with British Embassy and Spanish law enforcement agencies.
Officers from West Yorkshire Police's money laundering team brought Priestley back to England on October 22.
When Priestley was put before Leeds Court Court yesterdayhe was also sentenced to a further 32 weeks in prison for failing to appear at court. He is to appear in due course at Leeds Magistrates Court in connection with an alleged default on an earlier Confiscation Order.
When Priestley, 69, from Colton, Leeds, but orginally from Bramley, failed to appear at court in 2005 he disappeared from his luxury home which was protected by electric fences and guard dogs.
In the hunt for Priestley police urged Spain's expatriate British community on the Costa del Sol to help bring him to justice. Priestley had a criminal counterfeiting past long before 2005 and in December 2002 had been stripped of more than 2.2m at Bradford Crown Court.
Police raids on his home in Park Road, Colton, and factories near Huddersfield, had netted 138,000 bottles of fake fragrances and 1,500 bottles of Spanish sparkling wine re-labelled as Moet et Chandon champagne.
Officers also found 104,000 cash hidden in secret compartments at his home.
In April 2002 that year he had been jailed for 18 months after admitting three counts of conspiracy to sell or distribute counterfeit goods – but was released early from jail.
Priestley was featured in the Operation Captura's first 10 appeals in October 2006 and was the 25th out of 50 wanted fugitives arrested over a 10 day period.
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Sunday 12 February 2012
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