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One of Britain's most wanted men, suspected of child sex offences, has been arrested by police in Spain.Martin Smith, from Tyneside, failed to answer bail two years ago after his arrest on suspicion of raping a child under the age of 16.
He is also suspected of gross indecency with a girl under the age of 16, indecent assault of a girl under 16 and attempted rape of a girl under 16.
The 45-year-old, of North Shields, was arrested in Barcelona.
The alleged attacks took place between 1995 and 2005.
Mr Smith was placed on the Operation Captura most wanted list last September after failing to answer bail in January 2008.
The list, compiled by Crimestoppers and the Serious Organised Crime Agency (SOCA), identifies serious criminals wanted in the UK who are suspected of living in Spain.
Dave Cording, Crimestoppers' director of operations, said: "This man was being sought in connection with an extremely serious crime.
"Operation Captura continues to go from strength to strength, which is due to law enforcement in both the UK and Spain working so successfully together with the help of vital information provided by the public.
"Nobody should underestimate how important their information about crime is - just one phone call could be the missing piece of the jigsaw that could help bring justice to victims and their families."This article is from the BBC News website. ? British Broadcasting Corporation, The BBC is not responsible for the content of external internet sites.