Robert Hendy-Freegard, a convicted fraudster who was the subject of a Netflix documentary, is facing possible charges of attempted murder. He is expected to appear before a Belgian judge on Saturday before being extradited to France. A manhunt began after Hendy-Freegard, 51, ran into two gendarmes as he tried to escape during a raid on his home in France following reports he was breeding illegal dogs. His Audi A3 was stopped by Belgian police on the E40 motorway in Grand-Bigard near Brussels on Friday. Gilles Blondeau, from the local prosecutor’s office in Belgium, told reporters: “The motorway police identified his vehicle, which had been marked because of what happened in France. He was immediately arrested.” He said Hendy-Freegard will appear before a judge on Saturday before a decision is made on his extradition. Hendy-Freegard has been on the run since last Thursday, when French workplace and animal rights inspectors, accompanied by gendarmes, turned up to inspect the remote home in the village of Vidaillat in Creuse, central France, where he lived with his partner of, Sandra Clifton. . It is believed the couple moved to France in 2015 and kept around 30 greyhounds. The local mayor, Martine Laporte, said Hedy-Freegard was suspected of illegally breeding dogs. While officers were asking Clifton to accompany them to the nearest station, Handy-Freegard started his car and allegedly struck two constables before fleeing, police said. One reportedly carried 100 yards on the hood of the vehicle and required hospital treatment for a broken nose. The local prosecutors opened an investigation into the “attempted murder of a public servant”. If convicted, he faces up to 30 years in prison. Earlier this year, Hendy-Freegard was the subject of a three-part Netflix documentary The Puppet Master: Hunting the Ultimate Conman, starring James Norton and Gemma Arterton, in which Clifton’s children, Jake and Sophie, said he had disappeared after she met him on a dating site. In 2005, Hendy-Freegard was sentenced to life in prison by a London court for fraud, theft and kidnapping, although the kidnapping charges were overturned on appeal and he was released in 2009. Neighbors said Hendy-Freegard’s partner lived in “horrendous conditions” in the isolated house in the middle of the forest and was rarely seen in the village, unlike Hendy-Freegard, who made regular trips to Britain. “She never went outside, except in her little yard,” a neighbor surnamed Serge told AFP. “I have written to the police, the prefect, the town hall since 2017, but they did not take it seriously,” he added. The couple’s dogs have now been cared for by French animal charity SPA. During his trial in London, the court heard that Hendy-Freegard was said to live by the motto “Lies must be big to be convincing”. He tricked his victims into believing he was a British intelligence officer and was on the run from terrorists and conned them out of more than £1million. Sarah Smith, one of his victims, recalled incidents such as being taken to a “safe house” with a bucket over her head and having to hide in a cupboard to avoid visitors.
