A drug boss used a fake passport to escape the country and head to Dubai after detectives closed in on his Warrington based gang he ran with his brother.
Police have concluded a review into how well known criminal, Leon Cullen, was able to flee the UK before a planned arrest.
While Anthony Cullen and the rest of the gang received long prison sentences as part of Operation Samurai, Leon Cullen spent two years as a fugitive.
The Warrington man was eventually arrested in Dubai last January after an international police operation which involved the National Crime Agency and Interpol.
Leon Cullen was jailed for 22 years and six months earlier this month after he pleaded guilty to drug and firearms offences.
Cheshire Police have now said that they have concluded a review into how Cullen was able to flee the country.
A spokesman said: "As a matter of course and due to the circumstances of Leon Cullen's departure from the country, an internal review was conducted, no matters were identified of any concern."
Cullen's escape from the UK with a false passport led to speculation in the Warrington area about how he managed to leave the country while his brother Anthony was arrested.
The two brothers ran Warrington's dominant drug gang , and began to deal with more established criminal groups from Manchester and Liverpool.
The ECHO has previously revealed how Leon Cullen fell out with notorious criminals from Salford over a drug debt.
This led to a spate of violence in the Warrington area, when hired gunmen were sent to the town to carry out a number of shootings.
Last January a gunman tried to shoot a former boxer who was a close associate of Leon Cullen. The shooting in Monks Place left local families worried for their safety.
In a separate incident later last year David Barnes, step- dad of Cullen associate Liam Byrne Jr, was shot in the leg by a gunman disguised as a pizza delivery boy.
The gang then targeted the home of Charlie Cullen, father to the Leon and Anthony. But when the gunman was told Mr Cullen no longer lived at the address the criminals left.
The Cullens, who grew up in the Longford area, were said to have had a volatile relationship. Locals told the ECHO that Anthony was the quieter of the two while Leon was more extravert.
Liverpool men Aaron Bretherton,24 Lewis Fitzpatrick, 25 and Anthony Morris,23, were found guilty of conspiracy to cause grievous bodily harm in relation to the shooting of David Barnes and will be sentenced later this year.
Earlier this month Cheshire Police recently drove a van around the Cullens old neighbourhoods with digital images of how the men will look when they are eventually released from prison.
Detective Chief Inspector Mike Evans said: "The Cullen brothers have been a driving force for organised crime in Warrington for many years.
"However there was only one way they were headed and that was always going to be behind bars serving significant sentences.
"People may think it’s a quick and easy way to earn money to lead a lavish lifestyle but that is far from the reality. The consequences of being involved in the supply of drugs and firearms are worlds away from that and instead you become embroiled in violence and debt and are constantly looking over your shoulder.
“Leon and Anthony will leave prison a lot older, they will miss out on being around their family, be under constant watch by the authorities when released, they will always be paying back what they profited from under their criminality and we’ll be relentless in searching for their hidden assets to recover them.
“Young men will at one time have looked up to them but now we want them to look at them in a different light and see the true reality of where organised crime takes you. Is it really worth it?”
