Who is Sarah Panitzke? UK's most wanted woman arrested after 9 years on the run 

Sarah Panitzke, a money launderer and the only woman ever to be put on Britain’s most wanted list, was arrested while walking her dogs in Santa Barbara, Spain, on Sunday (February 26) morning after almost nine years on the run.

Panitzke, who was involved in a £1 billion tax fraud, absconded in May 2013 while on trial for her "pivotal role" in the gang of 18 conspirators who executed the fraud. She was put under surveillance for weeks prior to her arrest in Spain.

As per the National Crime Agency (NCA), she appeared in court on February 28 and was being held in a Spanish jail as the extradition proceedings to bring her back to the UK began.

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Sarah Panitzke was the only remaining member of the tax fraud gang to be tracked down

Following an HMRC investigation, Panitzke, after fleeing, was convicted and sentenced to eight years in jail in her absence. The gang of fraudsters received jail terms totaling 135 years. She was the only remaining member of the gang to be tracked down.

According to the Spanish Guardia Civil, Sarah Panitzke hid in Spain with the help of her family ties there. However, in 2015, she was tracked down to the Barcelona satellite town of Olivella, where her husband delivered her supplies on weekends.

Panitzke, who became aware of the police operation, changed her appearance and fled. She reportedly cut off all physical connections to her family in Spain after fleeing. Investigators finally got the tip that she was hiding in Santa Barbara in February.

Sarah Panitzke and her group established a network of companies in Spain, Andorra and Dubai, which illegally bought and sold mobile phones. After purchasing the phones VAT-free from EU countries, the gang of scammers resold them in the UK for extra money, including tax.

After selling small and valuable phones that were easy to take in and out of the country, the companies would dissolve and disappear without paying taxes. The fraudulent activities would then be repeated over and over again.

The group was appointed by the head of gangsters, Geoffrey Johnson, 78, from across Britain and Spain. Despite being as unlinked as possible, the gang members are believed to have connected at an unidentified party overseas, as suggested in the trial.

Panitzke getting gheraoed while walking her dogs (Image via Guardia Civil/NCA)

NCA's international deputy director, Tom Dowdall, noted in a statement:

"Sarah Panitzke has been on the run for almost nine years. Given the length of time, she might have thought we had stopped searching, but she remained on our radar. Joint working between UK law enforcement and our partners in Spain led to her being apprehended, and we will now seek her extradition back to the UK to serve her prison sentence."

He also had a message for other fugitives, as he said:

"This should serve as a warning to others on our momost-wantedist - we will not rest until you are captured, no matter how long it takes."

Panitzke getting arrested (Image via Guradia Civil/NCA)

Simon York, the director of HMRC’s fraud investigation service, commented:

"Panitzke thought she had put herself outside of the reach of HMRC, but through our work with UK law enforcement and international partners we have tracked down another tax fugitive. No tax criminal is beyond our reach."

York also mentioned that they have captured over 60 fugitives in the past six years, saying:

"We have helped secure the return of more than 60 fugitives since 2016, including some of the UK’s most harmful tax cheats."

Panitzke, after her arrest (Image via Guardia Civil/NCA)

Sarah Panitzke, who was born in the village of Escrick, near Selby, North Yorkshire, reportedly comes from a well-to-do family. She attended York College for Girls before moving on to fee-paying St Peter’s School.

Her father Leo was an insurance broker and a residential property developer. However, Leo served four years in jail after he was caught buying council houses and selling them early on for a large amount of profit.