CBP agents are frequently known for the work they do along the southern border, whether it's rescuing illegal aliens who were stranded by their coyotes or intercepting drugs that are being smuggled into the United States. What most people don't realize is CBP agents are set up at airports across the nation, but, in particular, at international airports in large cities.
As Bronson wrote about yesterday, agents stationed at Washington Dulles International Airport in Washington, DC prevented a Minnesota homicide suspect from fleeing the country. CBP officials were looking at the flight manifest when they realized one of the passengers, 34-year-old Said Sharif Maye, had an active warrant out for his arrest. The Hennepin County Sheriff's Office in Minnesota wanted extradition. Maye was originally planning to fly out of Dulles, into Turkey, with Somalia as his ultimate destination.
Maye was put under arrested and turned over to Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority Police officers.
“This arrest illustrates how Customs and Border Protection’s unique border security mission supports our law enforcement partners by intercepting wanted fugitives allegedly fleeing prosecution and returning them to face their charges,” Casey Durst, CBP’s Director of Field Operations in Baltimore, said in a statement.
According to Hennepin County Sheriff Rich Stanek, the CBP apprehension was big. And we now know why.
"Turkey is the gateway to Somalia and the Middle East," Stanek told KSTP-TV. There is not extradition from Somalia, so once he's there, doesn't matter what they do here in the U.S. in terms of criminal charges."
The suspect is charged over a hit and run accident that killed 31-year-old Idris Yussuf on Aug. 24th.
"A suspect car drove over lanes of travel, pinned him against his car," said Minneapolis Police Spokesperson John Elder. "When he took off, he ended up sending him through the air, falling into the roadway."
Authorities believe Maye and Yussuf got into a fight at a nearby bar. The theory is that Maye targeted Yussuf with his vehicle.
"The suspect attempted to flee the state," Elder explained. "He did flee the state. We were aware of this, and made immediate contact with the border patrol."
Investigators alerted CBP officials throughout the nation in case Maye attempted to flee the country. Four days later Maye's name showed up in the National Crime Information Center, which prompted the arrest.