Spain arrests New Zealander on FBI's most-wanted list

Spanish police said Friday they had arrested a man on the FBI's 10 most-wanted list for a string of sex trafficking and pornography offences involving minors. 

The man, a 40-year-old New Zealander, was arrested after being spotted in a hotel in central Madrid where he was staying under a false name to avoid being caught, the police said.

Although they only identified him by his initials, MJP, a source confirmed it was Michael James Pratt who features on the FBI's list of 10 most-wanted criminals.

Information on his wanted poster on the FBI website - which now shows him as "captured" - said his pornography websites generated more than $17 million in revenue and offered a reward of $100,000 for information leading to his arrest. 

Arrested in the US, he was sentenced to life behind bars for child pornography, sexual exploitation, sexual assault and illegal earnings but fled, with an international warrant for his arrest issued in November 2019.

He was wanted for a string of crimes including conspiracy to commit sex trafficking by force, fraud and coercion; production of child pornography and sex trafficking of a minor. 

It said between 2012 and 2019, Pratt allegedly participated in...