Tinder rape suspect arrested in Spain in dramatic video

This is the dramatic moment a fugitive rape suspect has been arrested for allegedly sexually assaulting two women he met on dating app Tinder – two years after he faked his death and went on the run.

James Clacher, 55, was hanging upside down from public gym equipment on a beach on Spain's Costa del Sol when two undercover police officers posing as tourists rushed at him.

A newly released video shows an undercover police officer running towards Clacher – who faked his disappearance in Scotland before fleeing – while a female officer approaches him from behind.

Detectives can be seen allowing him to put on a T-shirt before escorting him to a police station where his fingerprints were taken and his mugshot taken.

The Spanish Civil Guard today released the first images of the May 21 arrest, revealing how authorities found him.

“The operation began when the UK National Crime Agency received an anonymous tip that he might be living in Nerja and immediately made contact with the Civil Guard's UCO unit,” a Police Scotland spokesman said.

“This information, together with other data on the fugitive indicating that his life was closely linked to sport, allowed the agents to track him down in this city.

“They discovered that he was well integrated into the sports world and that he was using a false identity.

“Once his identity was confirmed following discreet surveillance, he was arrested while practicing gymnastics in a recreational area on Nerja beach.

“This individual, described as dangerous by Police Scotland, has been charged with sexually assaulting two women he met through a dating app.”

Clacher was due to stand trial over allegations he raped a woman at a flat in southwest Scotland in August 2019 and carried out another attack on a woman at a flat in Glasgow in September 2020, when he disappeared.

The gym boss was last seen in a town east of Glasgow on May 30, 2022, and was reported missing after his clothes and Suzuki Swift car were found in a car park in Loch Long the following day.

“Police Scotland subsequently determined that this was not an involuntary disappearance and that he had fled to avoid arrest,” police added.

Revealing he had been found and detained in Spain, a Police Scotland spokesperson said earlier this year: “A 55-year-old man was arrested on an international arrest warrant in Spain on Tuesday 21 May.

“We are working with partner agencies and he will be subject to extradition proceedings.”

It is not yet clear whether Clacher is opposing extradition or agreeing to be repatriated to the UK to stand trial.