According to the Metropolitan Police, a prominent leader of the Tottenham Turks gang was apprehended in Moldova after fleeing jail in Turkey.

Izzet Eren was sentenced to 21 years in prison for weapons offenses in 2015, and he was moved to a Turkish prison in August 2019.

Eren allegedly escaped from that prison a month later, according to the Met.

After Eren’s arrest in Chișinău on Thursday, Commander Fiona Mallen confirmed extradition processes were underway.

She said: “The Metropolitan Police Serious Crime Manhunt team works around the clock to track down the criminals ‘most wanted’ by the Met.

“In this case, a hugely complex investigation was launched to establish Eren’s whereabouts, with a wide range of investigative and sensitive intelligence opportunities exploited.”

Eren was apprehended in north London in October 2015 with a loaded handgun and a machine gun, reportedly on his way to carry out a shooting.

An attempt was attempted to break Eren out of the prison van as he was being taken to Wood Green Crown Court from jail two months later.

The scheme was foiled, but Jermaine Baker, 28, was killed in the process.

During an investigation into Mr. Baker’s deadly shooting last year, a Met Police briefing paper made public revealed what police felt about Eren’s history.

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