An “unlucky 13” of Britain’s most wanted men, who are thought to be hiding in Spain, include the suspected leader of a £90m cocaine-smuggling ring.

Ian Stanton, 42, from Liverpool, is accused of being the mastermind of a gang that smuggled more than 400kg of cocaine to the UK hidden in a shipment of Argentinian beef.

The drugs were found at Tilbury docks in Essex in May, and the shipment was due to be delivered to a cold-storage company in Wigan.

He has links to Merseyside – specifically Crosby, Kirkby and Maghull – but also London, the Netherlands and Spain.

Other fugitives include Michael McCartney, 78, from Letchworth, who was convicted of abusing three boys. He groomed them by buying them expensive gifts before committing sex crimes.

He was found guilty of nine counts of indecent assault, indecency with a child and inciting sexual activity involving penetration in March 2013, and failed to attend court the following month for sentencing.

Robert Mortby is suspected of attempted murder over an attack on a man outside a pub in Elephant and Castle, south London.

The victim was drinking at the Rose and Crown in July last year when he was hit over the head with a bottle and shot three times.

Mortby, 26, from London, is suspected of being one of his two attackers.

The full list of 13 was revealed in Madrid on Thursday by Crimestoppers, the UK’s National Crime Agency (NCA) and Spanish police, in the eighth appeal of its kind run under Operation Captura.

Hank Cole, from the NCA, told : “They are a mixture of serious criminals ranging from alleged sex offenders, those who’ve committed or attempted to commit murder, and significant drug traffickers.

“So these are the worst or most serious criminals that the National Crime Agency is looking to capture.

“Historically Spain had no extradition treaty to the UK so it was seen as a safe haven for UK criminals. Since then the law has changed and we’ve successfully extradited large numbers of UK criminals back to the UK.”

The initiative, targeting those fugitives thought to have fled to Spain, was launched in 2006 and so far has seen 53 out of 63 suspects caught.

Crimestoppers founder Lord Ashcroft said: “Despite our success so far, there are still a number of dangerous criminals who see Spain as a safe haven to hide from their past. But with the support of the Spanish and UK public, we can hunt them out and bring them to justice.”

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