U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP), Office of Field Operations at the Peace Arch Port of Entry took a Bellingham man into custody Tuesday night after the Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) discovered a National Crime Information Center (NCIC) warrant for homicide in the first degree.
NCIC is a centralized automated database designed to share information among law enforcement agencies including outstanding warrants for a wide range of offenses.
(Learn About NCIC. The National Instant Criminal Background Check System, or the ‘NICS’, was established to aid Federal Firearms Licensees, or FFLs, in determining whether or not the transfer of a firearm would violate state or federal law. Courtesy of the FBI and YouTube)
Two CBSA agents escorted the 58-year-old man back to Blaine after he tried crossing into Canada just after 1 p.m.
The man was a match to a felony warrant for homicide in the first degree/strangulation out of Port Angeles.
The Port Angeles Police Department was contacted and confirmed the warrant and the extradition process was started.
“The arrest of this individual highlights the cooperation between CBSA and CBP,” said Area Port Director Kenneth L Williams.
“I commend officers from both countries for their commitment to securing our nations.”
Whatcom County Sheriff’s deputies arrested the man and escorted him to their jail facility in Bellingham.
Based on information from NCIC, CBP officers on the U.S./Canadian border have made previous arrests of individuals wanted for homicide, escape, money laundering, robbery, narcotics distribution, sexual child abuse, fraud, larceny, and military desertion.
U.S. Customs and Border Protection is the unified border agency within the Department of Homeland Security charged with the management, control and protection of our nation’s borders at and between the official ports of entry.
CBP is charged with keeping terrorists and terrorist weapons out of the country while enforcing hundreds of U.S. laws.
