“Two people accused of murder committed in Great Britain were on the run from the Polish police” — writes “Sunday Express”. The newspaper reminds that the men had a criminal past before leaving for the UK and were at risk of imprisonment.
An unprecedented case
Despite an arrest warrant issued for them in Poland, Tomasz W. and Adrian P. managed to get to Great Britain.
At the end of 2021, the Polish community in Great Britain was shocked by the news of the disappearance of 57-year-old Andrzej M. A few months later, the case was classified as suspected murder.
In February 2026, police reported finding a body in woodland in Stoke Poges, Buckinghamshire, just a few miles from the scene. Investigators had previously identified two suspects: 36-year-old Tomasz W. and 28-year-old Adrian P.
According to the findings, Andrzej M. was beaten in his apartment and then strangled. The 57-year-old's body was packed into a suitcase and taken to a nearby forest.
The British media are outraged by the fact that the accused, who had committed serious crimes in Poland, were allowed to enter the UK, where they had further conflicts with the law.
“Their case is seen as an indictment of lax criminal background checks at the British border,” writes the Sunday Express. “At the time of M.'s death, both men were wanted by the Polish police. They later committed further crimes in the UK. Documents show that in July 2021, Four months before M.'s murder, a judge at Westminster District Court ordered the extradition of Adrian P. to serve an outstanding sentence for a number of offenses, including assaulting two police officers and damaging property.
Adrian P. came to the UK in 2018. He had previously removed the electronic monitoring bracelet and severed contact with his probation officer, which resulted in the suspension of his prison sentence (he should have served a year and almost 10 months).
Tomasz W., in turn, was on the list of “most wanted criminals” for over two years. During his stay in the UK, he was tried for violent entry and damage to property, but he avoided prison and extradition.
Men felt unpunished in Great Britain. They committed further crimes until they committed murder. Only years later, thanks to Polish-British cooperation, the local prosecutor's office decided that the case should be brought to Poland. It was a precedent.
The prosecutor's office initially decided that there was insufficient evidence to charge them with murder and charged them with obstructing the court proceedings and preventing the legal burial of Andrzej M. The breakthrough was the evidence collected by Polish investigators.
In January 2023, Adriana P.'s girlfriend and their roommate returned to Poland. They told the police that they witnessed Andrzej M being beaten in a flat in Slough and that his body was hidden in the woods.
Poland issued an international arrest warrant. British services detained the men in May 2023. Incriminating evidence collected by the Poles (testimony of the girlfriend and roommate) would most likely be inadmissible in a British court. Therefore, the local prosecutor's office withdrew the charges so that both defendants could answer to the Polish justice system.
“Thanks to the support of Polish law enforcement, who gathered new and compelling evidence linking Adrian P. and Tomasz W. to Andrzej's murder, we worked tirelessly with the Prosecutor's Office and the Polish authorities to obtain a landmark decision to discontinue the proceedings in the UK and extradite the defendants to Poland where they will stand trial,” said Detective Superintendent Kevin Brown, head of Thames Valley Police's Serious Crime Unit.
The murder case of Andrzej Mucha revealed systemic gaps in British migration policy and the fight against crime. Two men wanted for serious crimes in the European Union entered Great Britain without any major problems, committed further offenses there, and ultimately committed murder. Critics point to weak border controls after Brexit, lack of automatic exchange of information on arrest warrants and too lenient treatment of foreigners with a criminal past.
In March 2026 Tomasz W. and Adrian P. were sent back to Poland by military plane from Biggin Hill airport. The former faces life imprisonment for murder, the latter up to eight years in prison for assault and fraud. Both are awaiting trial in the District Court in Gliwice.
