DETECTIVES say there is no hiding place for two men accused of being involved in an armed robbery on a security van in Colne five years ago.

The warning came after the brother of one of the men was arrested in Amsterdam.

Investigators from the Serious Organised Crime Agency detained 24-year-old Sean Devalda in the Dutch city as part of Operation Gulf, a crackdown on foreign fugitives.

Dutch police threw smoke bombs into the house before making the arrest.

The operation involved a team of armed officers, a helicopter and police divers.

A firearm was recovered and 50,000 Euros in cash, along with high-value watches.

Extradition proceedings will now commence to return him to the UK.

Sean Devalda, from Salford, was wanted on suspicion of conspiracy to rob a Group 4 cash in transit vehicle in Agecroft, Salford, in February 2007.

His brother Stephen Devalda, 27, and Andrew Moran, 28, are still on the run in connection with an armed robbery on a Royal Mail van at the ASDA store in Corporation Street, Colne.

In the raid one of the security officers was approached and attacked by two men riding a motorcycle, armed with a handgun, machete and a baseball bat.

Stephen Devalda was charged but never appeared in court over the raid, while Moran was convicted by a Burnley Crown Court jury but fled before sentencing.

The pair are both the subject of European-wide arrest warrants and have been the subject of repeated media and BBC Crimewatch appeals since 2005.

Five out of the seven fugitives sought under Operation Gulf have so far been apprehended and crime chiefs are confident of snaring the remaining two.

SOCA spokesman Matt Burton said: "We believe these seven men are members of organised crime gangs that have caused havoc and spread fear for years.

"On behalf of the communities they have preyed on, the Gulf team has said enough is enough.”

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