One of Scotland's most wanted men is trying to avoid extradition back into the country by using his pregnant girlfriend.
James White, originally from Dunfermline, was hunted down by police after he was discovered to be living in Brazil after evading capture in Europe earlier this year.
The 42 year-old has been living in an exclusive beach resort following his arrest, however it has now been claimed that he is hoping his pregnant girlfriend may delay his extradition back to Scotland, reports the Daily Record.
White has been wanted by the police since fleeing Scotland, however he had managed to disappear after being last traced in Italy by Europol.
During lockdown, officers were finally able to locate him after they uncovered a fake name he had been using.
White was found to have been using the fake alias in Brazil where he was posing as a stranded tourist during lockdown, but was arrested a few weeks later.
One informed source compared the case to that of Ronnie Biggs, the great train robber, who was able to avoid extradition after fathering a child in Brazil.
The source told the Daily Record: “It sounds as though he’s hoping to play the Ronnie Biggs card and oppose extradition on family grounds.
“Whether or not his lover is pregnant, it would take some lawyer to win that argument given the effort that has gone into tracking him down and getting him in custody.”
The source added that keeping all parties safe from COVID-19 would be central to any plans to bring him home to answer charges.
He added: “Brazil has been hit harder than most countries and don’t seem to have dealt with it terribly well, so we will have to do all we can to keep everyone, including White, safe and well.”
Images of White emerged shortly after his arrest in June showing him wearing only shorts and handcuffed to a chair, and then in the boot of a police car.
Officers involved in a global probe into alleged trafficking of drugs and illegal weapons and money laundering wanted White returned to Scotland along with another man, who cannot be named for legal reasons, and brothers James and Barry Gillespie, 45 and 41, who are both still at large.
A Police Scotland spokesman said: “An extradition request has been made and we are working with the Brazilian authorities and their judicial process.
