James Clacher, 55, was doing strength training while hanging upside down on a rope when two undercover police officers, pretending to be tourists, arrested him. Video footage shows one officer running towards Clacher, while another approached him from behind. They, along with two more officers, quickly pinned him to the ground, handcuffed him, and took him away from the beach.
The police allowed Clacher to put on a T-shirt before taking him to the station for fingerprinting and a mugshot. Spain’s Civil Guard released a video of the arrest and explained that Clacher’s fitness routine helped them track him down in Nerja, east of Malaga.
The arrest happened on May 21, but the details were only revealed later. Clacher was supposed to face trial for allegedly raping two women he met on Tinder—one attack in August 2019 in Troon and another in September 2020 in Glasgow.
He was last seen in Airdrie, Lanarkshire, on May 30, 2022. His clothes and car were found the next day near a lake in Scotland, leading people to think he had disappeared. However, it was later determined he had fled to avoid arrest.
Police Scotland confirmed the arrest and mentioned that Clacher would face extradition proceedings. The arrest was made by Spain’s Civil Guard fugitives unit, which previously arrested other criminals.
The operation to catch Clacher began when Britain’s National Crime Agency received an anonymous tip about his possible location in Nerja.
They shared this information with the Civil Guard, who found Clacher living under a false identity and integrated into the local sports community. After confirming his identity through surveillance, they arrested him while he was exercising on the beach.
It’s not clear if Clacher is fighting extradition or if he has agreed to return to the UK for trial. He has already appeared before a judge in Spain to discuss the extradition.
