ONE of the men who murdered Hemel Hempstead PC Frank Mason during an armed robbery has been extradited back to the UK after escaping custody in 1994.
James Hurley, along with Perrie Wharrie and Charlie McGhee, were all found guilty of killing 27-year-old PC Mason and jailed for life in 1989.
But on February 16, 1994, Hurley escaped custody while being transferred on a prison coach to HMP Wandsworth.
Following an intelligence led raid by Dutch police, he was arrested in The Hague on November 19 in 2007, where he was found to have Class A drugs and a firearm.
He gave a false name but fingerprints and DNA allowed officers to identify him.
Since that time, officers in the UK have been working with the Dutch authorities to have Hurley extradited to serve the rest of his sentence for PC Mason’s murder.
He was returned to the UK on Wednesday (November 16) and is now back behind bars.
McGee has since died in prison and Wharrie is due to be extradited to the UK after he serves a 30 year sentence in Ireland for drug offences. He will not be extradited until at least 2030.
>For the full story pick up a copy of next week’s Gazette.