Choudhry Ikhalaq Hussain, 41, was sentenced in absentia in 2016 after being found guilty of abusing a child at Manchester’s Minshull Street Crown Court.

During the trial Hussain, formerly of Rochdale, claimed a family member had died and the judge gave him permission to attend a funeral somewhere in the UK – he then fled the country.

Hussain fled to Pakistan during the trial, but was found guilty in absentia and was sentenced to 19 years imprisonment.

Most of the offences took place between 2004 and 2008 and involved victims who were aged 13 to 23.

Greater Manchester Police said Hussain was arrested on Saturday in the central city of Sangla, in Punjab in a joint UK-Pakistan operation.

Hussain was one of ten men who were sentenced in 2016. Det Ch Insp Jamie Daniels said: “As with all offences of this nature, the victim is at the forefront of the investigation and we were determined to track down Hussain for her.

“We were never going to give up on finding him, no matter how much time passed or how far he travelled.”

The operation to arrest Hussain was hailed by the British High Commission in Pakistan as an excellent example of co-operation between the two countries.

Moves to extradite him back to the UK to serve his original sentence will now begin.