Dozens of Scotland's most wanted criminals were successfully tracked down by crimebusters.
However, the number was almost half the amount arrested the previous 12 months.
It comes amid fears Brexit thwarted police officers after they lost the right to use the European Arrest Warrant (EAW) when the UK left the EU, making extraditions more difficult.
Police Scotland's Fugitive Active Search Team (FAST) made sure 54 suspects faced justice – more than one each week.
But the figure was down from 100 men and women tracked down while on the run in 2020.
A source said: "Brexit has undoubtedly had a negative impact, but it wasn't as bad as was feared."
The specialist unit, set up in 2019, arrested alleged gunmen, murderers, fraudsters, drug dealers, money launderers, sex offenders, robbers and gangland Mr Bigs.
The elite team managed to track down suspects in Romania, Spain, France, Ireland, Italy, Germany, Australia and the Netherlands.
These included a 52-year-old man in Italy who was wanted for rape and a 31-year-old woman and two men, both 30, who were arrested and extradited from Romania for human trafficking offences.
Police Scotland insist the arrests are proof that officers will leave no stone unturned in their quest to crackdown on crime.
A new EU-UK free trade deal has a chapter which sees cooperation on crime including a post-Brexit extradition treaty to replace the EAW.
The source added: "The specialist officers achieved the remarkable results thanks to tireless work and strong relationships with law enforcement colleagues overseas."
The 54 individuals detained this year were arrested between January 1 and December 7.
Officers arrested 17 fugitives wanted in Scotland while 37 suspects from overseas were arrested by FAST and Extradition Unit officers and handed over to foreign law enforcement officers.
Last year the figure was 17 and 83 respectively.
Assistant Chief Constable Tim Mairs said: "These figures show that our committed officers continue to work tirelessly to bring fugitives back to Scotland."
Scottish Liberal Democrat leader Alex Cole-Hamilton said: "We, and others, warned that Brexit could interrupt efforts to track down and repatriate criminals.
"Systems which boost our crimefighting capabilities must be maintained."
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