A MAN who fled abroad to evade justice has been jailed for his part in an attempted armed robbery.

Detectives have welcomed the six-year jail term for Sean Devalda, 25, who was arrested in Amsterdam.

Devalda, who admitted conspiracy to commit robbery at Manchester Crown Court, was part of a gang caught planning to hijack a Group 4 security van bound for East Lancashire.

The security van was tailed along the M66 and the A56 through Rossendale and Hyndburn by a stolen VW Golf, before doubling back to Manchester.

The Golf returned to the city and various items, including a balaclava, a 9mm pistol and seven rounds of ammunition, were dumped in a bin in the Blackley area.

Devalda fled abroad after the botched raid and is thought to have also visited Spain and Mexico while on the run.

Det Insp Aaron Duggan, of Greater Manchester Police’s major incident team, said: “This case proved we will stop at nothing to bring criminals to justice.”

Sean Devalda is the younger brother of 35-year-old Paul Devalda, who was jailed for 21 years for the kidnap and murder of luxury housing project manager Paul Brady in 2009.

Mr Brady was lured to Lynn’s Court in Weir, near Bacup, by a 15-strong gang said to have involved Paul Devalda.

The father-of-four’s body has never been found and police have appealed to the killer, who lived in Padiham Road, Burnley, to ease the burden of Mr Brady’s family and reveal his whereabouts.