US fugitive in Tonga appeals removal order [1]
Friday, May 23, 2014 - 15:08. Updated on Friday, May 23, 2014 - 15:09.
A fugitive from the United States who was wanted by the FBI, was arrested in Tonga earlier this month and will appear in court on Tuesday to appeal a removal order.
Tonga Police stated today that their Serious Organized and Transnational Crime Unit (SOTCU) in conjunction with the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) had successfully located and arrested a US fugitive, a 62 year-old US national, on May 5, 2014 at Havelu, Nuku‘alofa.
“The fugitive was issued with a Federal Grand Jury indictment for four counts of wire fraud in September 2013. The US Government issued a Federal warrant of arrest for the fugitive from the US District Court of Central California in December 2013,” Viliami ‘Unga Fa’aoa, Tonga's Acting Commissioner of Police, said in a statement.
He said that the fugitive’s US passport had been cancelled and the fugitive was issued with an emergency passport to facilitate his return to the United States. “The fugitive has been declared as an undesirable immigrant in Tonga and is now a subject of a removal order.”
The man who was remanded in custody from 5-19 May 2014, before being released with strict conditions of bail. He is to appear at the Nuku'alofa Supreme Court on 27 May 2014. Police said his name would not be released until after the court appearance.