Pretoria Interpol office extradites two fugitives to USA
The Interpol office in Pretoria earlier this week, extradited two fugitives who were wanted for crimes in the USA.
Andrea Küsel
The Interpol office in Pretoria successfully extradited two wanted fugitives to the US on Thursday.
Ayodele Abrahamm Saliu (29), a Nigerian and Ernest Michael Mbwile (32), aTanzanian were extradited to the US for crimes they committed in that country.
Saliu was sought for the hacking of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) headquarters’ computer systems in Washington.
He was charged with 12 counts of fraud, computer intrusion and identity theft between 2006 and 2010. Saliu caused NASA a loss of $500 000 (approximately R9 million).
American law enforcement learned that Saliu was hiding in South Africa and contacted the Interpol office in May 2012 for help to arrest Saliu.
Mbwile faces drug trafficking cases which he committed in mid-2012 before fleeing to South Africa. Mbwile was arrested at the O.R Tambo International Airport as he was attempting to leave the country.
Both fugitives appeared in the Kempton Park Magistrate’s Court. The minister of justice and constitutional development has ordered the two be extradited.
The head of the Interpol office in Pretoria, Brigadier Scott Naidoo, said the extradition was a clear indication of the collaboration and cooperation between the South African law enforcement agencies and their international counterparts.
“This extradition should be a message to all criminals that they cannot commit crimes elsewhere in the world and come to South Africa to hide. The members of Interpol under the Hawks have their claws out for them and we are determined to hunt them down, close all the escape routes until we bring them to justice,” said Brigadier Naidoo.
Do you have more information about the story? Please send us an email to editorial@rekord.co.za or phone us on 083 625 4114.
For free breaking and community news, visit Rekord’s websites:
For more news and interesting articles, like Rekord on Facebook, follow us on Twitter or Instagram.
- We have exciting news! We’re offering a free alert to help you always be in the loop. Send an email with the word ‘Subscribe’ to breakingnews@rekord.co.za to receive your free daily breaking news update.
