A British crook who fled police waiting to arrest her by disguising herself in a wig has finally been held after nine years on the run.
Sarah Panitzke, 48, vanished during her 2013 London trial for laundering £1billion in a mobile phone VAT fraud.
Two years later, she sneaked away from a Spanish bolthole as officers closed in.
Panitzke was caught last Sunday as she walked her dogs in Santa Barbara, between Barcelona and Valencia.
The head of the elite Fugitive Task Force squad which nabbed her told yesterday of her disguise and dramatic escape in 2015.
He said: “It was like something out of a film.
“She appeared by her door to smoke and one officer passed by to get a closer look.
“She saw him and changed her clothes, donned a wig and a small rucksack before heading for the mountains beside the house a few moments later.
“It’s very rare to find people as prepared as she was.”
He revealed after her arrest Panitzke, who had been living under the alias Maria Antonietta, claimed she felt she had already done her time, having lived in isolation for so many years. The officer added: “She also complained she was only able to buy a cheap gin for her gin and tonics as her money started to run out.”
Panitzke, of Fulford, North Yorks, was sentenced to eight years in her absence for the fraud. She is in prison near Madrid, fighting extradition.
Told of her arrest, mum Pauline, 77, said at her home in Market Weighton, East Yorks: “At least I know she’s safe and well.”
