Notorious Liverpool gangster Curtis Warren has been arrested for allegedly breaching the terms of his Serious Crime Prevention Order seven months after his release from prison.
National Crime Agency officers arrested the 60-year-old man at a location in Boldon Colliery, South Tyneside, just before 6am this morning.
He is currently being questioned in custody over alleged breaches of the Serious Crime Prevention Order which came into force when he was released from prison after 14 years in November.
The NCA said the breaches “relate to the unauthorised use of mobile phones, vehicles, bank accounts and travel”.
NCA officers also carried out searches at the location in Boldon and another address in the Royal Albert Dock area of Liverpool.
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National Crime Agency officers arrested the 60-year-old man at a location in Boldon Colliery (PA)
Warren was released in November after spending most of the last 25 years inside (PA)A spokesperson said that mobile devices, documents and a quantity of cash were seized, and they are now being examined by investigators.
The operation was supported by Merseyside Police and the North East Regional Organised Crime Unit.
Warren’s former barrister Anthony Barraclough confirmed to the Mirror Warren was the man arrested, even though he was not named by the NCA.
Barraclough, who is retained by Warren’s firm of solicitors to provide advice and has represented Warren in previous trials in other countries, said: “I can confirm that he was arrested at 6am this morning. Any breaches will be minor transgressions.
Curtis Warren was previously jailed for drugs offences“These will be very fine interpretations of restrictions I anticipate. I imagine he was in Tyneside to visit friends.
“He is allowed to travel and have mobile phones, bank accounts and up to £1,000 in cash. He can travel abroad if he gives seven days notice. If he is going to be away from home he needs permission and he has had permission.
“I have not spoken to him yet as he is in custody.”
Curtis Warren previously appeared in court back in October 2009 (PA)Alison Abbott, from the NCA’s Lifetime Management of Offenders Team, said: “These court orders are vital tools for preventing and deterring future offending. Once criminals come onto our radar, they never leave, and the NCA will take action over breaches.”
Breach of a serious crime prevention order is a criminal offence subject to a maximum sentence of five years, an unlimited fine, or both.
Warren was released in November after spending most of the last 25 years inside.
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Officers have ince kept a close eye on the man nicknamed the "Cocky Watchman", who had experienced just three weeks of freedom since 1997.
He is on a list of individuals who have been issued with serious crime prevention orders (PA Archive/Press Association Images)Warren, who at one point had an estimated fortune of £300million, was arrested by undercover police in 2007 just days after he had been released from jail for a previous offence.
He served several jail terms for drug smuggling and is on a list of individuals who have been issued with serious crime prevention orders, which was published by the National Crime Agency earlier this year.
Crime writer Peter Walsh, author of a biography of the criminal entitled Cocky, wrote that if he said he was going to supply you with a certain drug at a certain quantity and a certain price on a certain day, "he would, and he was the best at it".
His nickname, which is Liverpool slang for a watchman or a guard who is always on the case, reflected this.
Warren did not speak any foreign languages and had a limited education, and yet he managed to successfully negotiate with dealers across the world, from Colombia to Turkey. His remarkable memory meant that he was able to keep everything in his head and avoid incriminating himself by putting pen to paper.
While living in Holland, Warren failed to appreciate phone wire-taps could be used in evidence, unlike in the UK.
It led to a 10-year jail sentence. And it was taped phone calls where he talked about what he stood to gain that led to his comeuppance in Jersey where he was jailed in 2007.
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