After placing her in handcuffs, FBI agents crowed that her arrest was sweeter than that of notorious US gangster James “Whitey” Bulger, an insider on the bust said.

They also discovered her British security guard — a former soldier described as “ex-Special Forces”. Mask-wearing in the ­Covid lockdown is said to have helped her avoid detection.

Maxwell’s arrest marked the end of a year’s journey which pals claim began on the West Coast, crisscrossed from Colorado to Wyoming and Idaho, before ending in the East.

A source close to Maxwell said: “Ghislaine has been ­constantly on the move throughout the last year. She would stay in properties for a few days or a week. Security guards were by her side due to death threats.

“She was never running from the Feds. She was ­running from journalists and crazy people who wanted to kill her. It was a serious problem. Her location was on a need-to-know basis.”