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Darren O'Flaherty Crimestoppers
Costa del Sol

Irish man and suspected killer of Irish father appear on Costa del Sol most wanted list

The list features a suspected Irish paedophile in his 60s and the suspected murderer of John O’Neill. Both are thought to have fled to Spain.

AN IRISH MAN and the suspected murderer of an Irish father-of-two have appeared on a list of the 10 most wanted people in the Costa del Sol.

Darren O’Flaherty, 35, from Liverpool is wanted in connection with the murder of the Irish father-of-two John O’Neill, 40, who was gunned down outside a bar in a Spanish resort last July.

O’Flaherty appears on the list issued by Britain’s Crimestoppers and the Serious Organised Crime Agency (SOCA) alongside a suspected paedophile Patrick Pious Hancox, 63, originally from Dublin.

O’Flaherty is wanted on two offences of conspiracy to kidnap and rob in the UK although he also remains the prime suspect in the murder of O’Neill.

Meanwhile Hancox is wanted on child sex offences and child abduction having violated the terms of his bail.

The list has been published in an attempt to capture potentially dangerous criminals including those wanted on drug trafficking, armed robbery, child abuse and murder charges.

Those on the list are all thought to have fled to Spain which is seen as a traditional hideaway for British criminals, according to The Guardian.

Five similar campaigns have already led to the capture of 38 others since 2006.

The latest campaign is known as  ’Operation Captura’, with one of the other suspects on the list, who is wanted for murder, said to be easily identifiable as part of one ear is missing.