David Noakes: Unlicensed 'cancer cure' boss arrested

David Noakes faces a confiscation order to strip him of £1.4m

A British man facing extradition to France has been found by UK police, five months after he disappeared.

David Noakes, 67, was arrested on Wednesday in Truro, Cornwall, after a tip off to police.

Officers have been searching for the former drug company boss since December when he failed to report to them while on bail.

Mr Noakes is wanted in France over nine alleged offences including marketing unauthorised medicines.

The former CEO of Guernsey-based Immuno Biotech is also facing confiscation proceedings at London's Southwark Crown Court.

A judge was set to rule on a confiscation order to strip Mr Noakes of £1.4m on Friday, but following his arrest proceedings were adjourned until 19 June, the court confirmed.

Reports of Mr Noakes's arrest initially circulated among his supporters on social media on Thursday, and Dorset Police, who coordinated the search, confirmed Mr Noakes's arrest to the BBC on Friday afternoon.

"Following information received from a member of the public, he was arrested in the Truro area of Cornwall by officers from Devon and Cornwall Police on Wednesday 20 May 2020 and has been recalled to prison," the force said in a statement.

Police had been searching for Mr Noakes since 13 December 2019 after he failed to report to Bournemouth Police Station while fighting a judge's decision to extradite him.

He resurfaced on 7 April, appearing on a live YouTube video in which he blasted the government for the handling of Covid-19, suggesting the "science stinks".

The European warrant for Mr Noakes's arrest relates to the sale and distribution of the cancer drug GcMAF from France.

It is alleged Mr Noakes moved his business operation to Normandy in 2015 after his UK operation was shut down following a raid by the medicines regulator.