'Most wanted burglar' Peter Sonny Martin O’Halloran arrested (From Wandsworth Guardian)

'Most wanted burglar' Peter Sonny Martin O’Halloran arrested

3:57pm Wednesday 11th February 2009

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Police arrested one of the country’s most wanted suspected burglars, who is now being grilled about a series of break-ins across Surrey.

Peter Sonny Martin O’Halloran, 34, was arrested by Surrey Police Cross-Border Investigation Team officers at a hotel in Wandsworth on Monday, and subsequently charged with seven offences, including an attempted burglary in Princes Drive, Leatherhead, in 2007 and a burglary in Sandown Avenue, Esher on 30 December 2007.

For nearly two years, O’Halloran had been wanted on recall to prison for breaching release conditions, and also to be questioned about residential burglaries across southern and central England.

He appeared on Crimestoppers’ Most Wanted website and also featured on the BBC’s Crimewatch programme.

In December 2008, Surrey Police’s Cross-Border Investigation Team joined the hunt for O’Halloran, working with Gloucestershire Constabulary, which led the investigation to track him down.

Acting Detective Inspector Dan Volle said: “Criminals pay no regard to county boundaries, so we’re equally ready to step outside our borders and target them.

“To this end, we’ve embedded five intelligence officers in neighbouring forces and, as we’ve shown this week, we’re willing and able to work with forces that are even further afield.

“The arrest and charging of Peter O’Halloran should send a clear message to criminals that they cannot evade the police by moving around the country.

“Through Operation Shield, we will continue to target travelling offenders who blight our local communities in Surrey and those elsewhere.”

Detective Sergeant Dave Doherty, of Gloucestershire Constabulary, added: “This arrest was an example of the excellent cooperation which exists between police forces, and should serve as further evidence of our ability to work together to investigate cross-border offences, as well as our determination to bring suspects to justice.”

O’Halloran appeared at Cheltenham Magistrates’ Court on Tuesday, charged with burglaries in Gloucestershire, Surrey, Suffolk, Oxfordshire and Cambridgeshire, the attempted burglary in Leatherhead and a Proceeds of Crime Act offence in Suffolk.

He was remanded in custody, where he will be questioned further in relation to other suspected offences and is scheduled to appear at Cheltenham Magistrates’ Court on Friday, February 13.

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