Fugitive Cambridgeshire estate agent arrested in Portsmouth
Paul Kerbey disappeared seven years ago owing thousands to clients but has now been arrested and charged with conspiring to import cannabis worth £500,000.
An estate agent who fled the UK for Spain 13 years ago leaving behind landlords and tenants who were owed £12,000 in deposits and rent has been arrested in Portsmouth.
Paul Kerbey had run March, Cambridgeshire high street firm Property Express but in 2007 he disappeared, also taking with him the £25,000 an associate had paid to join his business.
Reports in local media suggest his escape to Spain was planned. Kerbey owned a house in March until 2006 but sold up and moved to a rented property before closing his estate agent firm and fleeing.
Former estate agent Kerbey set up Property Express in 2002 and employed three staff and offered both sales and lettings services.
Estepona
He was found living in Estepona on the Costa del Sol where he later set up a removals and freights business called Driva Provida that specialised in ferrying clients items to and from the UK. It appeared to flourish with glowing recommendations from clients.
His Facebook page is full of pictures showing Kerbey and his team moving a wide range of items including luxury cars, motorbikes, artwork, household items and even diggers from the UK to Spain and back again.
But he has now been arrested in Portsmouth and charged with importing 84.8 kilogrammes of cannabis with a street value of £500,000.
He has appeared in front of magistrates in the city and has been remanded in custody for trial at Portsmouth Crown Court.
Good news story that the long ( and patient ) arm of the law has caught up with him, albeit for a Criminal matter.
You have to wonder if there wasn’t the drugs issue, what motivation would the law have to bring him to justice, as Fraud seems to be out-sourced from (Criminal ) justice [sic]