Hungarian police have arrested a 60-year-old British man who had been wanted internationally for more than two decades over alleged sexual offences committed in the United States. The arrest followed a tip-off from the FBI’s unit based in Hungary, which alerted the Hungarian National Bureau of Investigation (KR NNI) on 25 August that the fugitive might be travelling through the country.
According to Hungarian police, US authorities had been investigating the man since 2003 in connection with alleged offences involving a minor, including coercion and solicitation to engage in illegal sexual activity.
The man reportedly fled the United States in September 2004 and was believed to have travelled to England. US authorities charged him in 2004 and issued an arrest warrant that November. An international wanted notice was subsequently issued in 2006, with the Washington Interpol office also seeking his arrest.
FBI alert triggers Hungarian investigation
After receiving the information from the FBI, Hungarian investigators identified a vehicle with British registration that was being used by the wanted man. They established that he had entered Hungary from Romania on 26 August and then tracked his movements.
The KR NNI alerted the Hajdú-Bihar County Police Headquarters that the vehicle, believed to be carrying the fugitive, was travelling towards them on the M3 motorway from the direction of Szabolcs-Szatmár-Bereg County. Several police units were dispatched to intercept the vehicle.
If you missed it: Missing Hungarian football star Buzsáky breaks silence after 10 days
Fugitive arrested near Polgár
Officers caught up with the vehicle near Polgár and directed it into a motorway service area, where they stopped and checked the driver. The police’s suspicions were confirmed: the driver was the 60-year-old British national wanted by US authorities.
He was arrested and taken to the Hajdúnánás Police Station, where he was placed in custody. Hungary’s International Criminal Cooperation Centre (NEBEK) coordinated the necessary international cooperation and assisted in bringing the man before a court.
Court releases the suspect
The case took an unexpected turn after the arrest. The KR NNI requested that the man be placed in extradition custody pending further proceedings. However, the court rejected the request and released him, according to Hungarian police.
The authorities have not provided further details about the court’s decision. The arrest itself brought to an end more than 20 years of efforts to locate the man, who had been internationally wanted since 2006.
UPDATE: Here’s why the man was released
“According to the Budapest Metropolitan Court, no crime was committed, since the person on the other end of the ‘line’ during the British man’s chat was not a minor, but an American police officer,” Ferenc Levente Rab, deputy spokesperson for the Budapest Chief Prosecutor’s Office, told Telex.
Living, working or doing business in Hungary?
Make things easier with professional support in English. Explore Daily News Hungary’s Services in English and find the help you need.
