The story of the now 52-year-old Rafał Z. began at the end of the 1990s. The Police Headquarters: – At that time, organized crime was flourishing in Poland. It was a period when groups involved in smuggling and drug trafficking, robberies, extortion and procuring were active.

Rafał Z., who came from the Kuyavian-Pomeranian Voivodeship, settled in Lower Silesia, where he became involved with local criminals from Jelenia Góra County. Even before moving, he had shown his darker side in his former place of residence. He left it facing charges related to inciting and profiting from the prostitution of Polish women who were taken to Sweden.

In Jelenia Góra, he worked together with local criminals. His criminal “career” inspired the creators of Polish crime series, and the crimes he committed became part of the script of the popular programme “997”.

Z.’s criminal activity did not escape the attention of the authorities. As a result of the investigation, the National Prosecutor’s Office in Wrocław charged him with obtaining financial benefits in connection with trafficking in a significant quantity of drugs, as well as manufacturing explosives.

The climax came on 5 August 2003. On that day, as a result of a gangland feud, Robert S. was murdered with a firearm. Rafał Z. became a suspect in the crime.

Investigators: – Immediately after the incident, he left Poland and began hiding from law enforcement. He initially went to France. Consequently, the District Prosecutor’s Office in Jelenia Góra issued a wanted notice for him, while officers from the Lower Silesian Provincial Police Headquarters in Wrocław conducted the search.

After it was established that the wanted man was abroad, an international search was also launched, and every lead was carefully analyzed. However, Rafał Z. completely severed contact with his family and acquaintances. The police: – Drawing on the experience he had gained while operating within criminal structures, as well as the numerous contacts he had acquired through them, he quickly and efficiently organized a life for himself outside Poland. For years, despite a number of actions taken by the authorities, it was impossible to establish where the wanted man was hiding.

After more than a decade, Wrocław’s “head hunters” picked up Rafał Z.’s trail. Officers from the Provincial Police Headquarters in Wrocław immediately contacted the ENFAST network contact point operating within the Persons Search and Identification Division of the Criminal Bureau of the Police Headquarters (ENFAST is an international police cooperation network dedicated to searching for the most dangerous criminals).

Officers from the Police Headquarters immediately began cooperating with their European counterparts. The trail led to Spain. The Headquarters:

Continuing their operational activities, the “hunters” obtained more information, expanding their knowledge of Rafał and his life in Spain. Following the trail, they established that the wanted man, using a new identity—that of a person of another nationality—had committed crimes in Spain.

Finally, in August 2021, action taken by the Spanish authorities led to his arrest. For the duration of the extradition proceedings, a Spanish court ordered police supervision as a preventive measure. Rafał Z. failed to comply with the court’s order and began hiding again.

The result? Officers:

The police had to restart the search from the beginning. Drawing on their experience from previous years, using the full range of operational capabilities and relying on the international cooperation developed earlier, coordinated by the ENFAST Contact Point at the Police Headquarters, they obtained information indicating that the wanted man was staying in central-eastern Spain. Thanks to close cooperation between officers from the Persons Search and Identification Division of the Provincial Police Headquarters in Wrocław, the Criminal Bureau of the Police Headquarters and the Spanish police (Policía Nacional), Rafał Z. was arrested in the morning of 20 February 2025 by a specialized search team from Madrid (FAST Spain).

The wanted man had been hiding in Valencia, Spain’s third-largest city, and was using yet another set of false personal details. He was surprised by the authorities’ action because, after leaving detention in 2021, he had changed his appearance and identity.

Z. will now face the Spanish justice system and will then undergo extradition proceedings.