Darren Towler appeared at court via video link from Durham prison on Friday.
An ex-professional MMA fighter turned drug lord spent 10 weeks in an 'inhumane jail' after being on the run for 18 months.
Towler had fled the country days before he was due to stand trial in March 2022. The public were warned not to approach the 6ft 3in cage fighter, who won the UCMMA title in 2011. After almost 18 months on the run, Towler - who is from Consett - was found near the Croatian border , on August 5. On Friday, his barrister Kristian Cavanagh said that his client had then spent 10-weeks in a Croatian jail before being extradited.
Judge Jonathan Carroll told him: "You were giving instructions to your barrister on the telephone, right up to your trial. You were fully aware of it. It could not be a more deliberate attempt to evade justice."
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