Daring thief earl essentially apprehends (8)

I believe the answer is:

fearless

I'm a little stuck... Click here to teach me more about this clue!

'daring' is the definition.
(I've seen this before)

'thief earl essentially apprehends' is the wordplay.
'FEARLESS' is hidden in amongst the letters.
However, I am uncertain how this is indicated.

Can you help me to learn more?

(Other definitions for fearless that I've seen before include "Confident" , "Extremely brave" , "Intrepid" , "Daring, brave" , "game?" .)

I've seen this clue in The Telegraph.

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