An escaped prisoner who spent 21 years on the run is back behind bars, after he was arrested as he stepped off a train at St Pancras.
Fugitive Malcolm Gooch, 68, from Chigwell in Essex, absconded back in July 1995 when he was on day release from HMP Send in Surrey.
At the time, he was three years into an 11 year sentence for drug smuggling.
Earlier this year investigators from the National Crime Agency dicovered that Gooch may have been using a fraudulently obtained genuine passport in the name of Roger Skelton.
They then found out he had used the passport to travel to Paris and the south of France.
On Saturday, Border Force officers told the NCA that the passport was being used to travel on a Eurostar service from Gare du Nord.
The NCA tipped off officers from British Transport Police, who arrested Gooch when he arrived at St Pancras International.
Following his arrest, Gooch was also charged with possession of a false passport and driving licence.
He appeared at Westminster Magistrates Court, where he was returned to prison to serve the remainder of his sentence.
NCA branch commander Jayne Lloyd said: “Gooch may have thought that after so long on the run he may have escaped justice for good. But he never vanished off our radar.
“We were able to build up a picture of his travel and, working with our partners at Border Force and BTP once we were alerted he was on his way back to the UK we moved quickly to have him arrested.”
“He will now have to serve the rest of his sentence."
