Foreign fugitive arrested in SA

2003-08-04 18:56

Johannesburg - A fugitive wanted in the United Kingdom for various crimes has appeared in court after being arrested in Johannesburg, police said on Monday.

Mohammed Chenia, alias Riyaad Muhmmad, appeared in the Booysens magistrate's court on Monday after been arrested on July 31.

Senior Superintendent Mary Martins-Engelbrecht said Chenia, who was considered to be one of the five most wanted criminals in the UK, was being sought for fraud and drug trafficking.

He was arrested in Robertsham, Johannesburg, after a joint operation by members of Interpol, South Africa's organised crime unit, and law enforcement agents from the UK.

Martins-Engelbrecht said the process to extradite Chenia had started and that he would remain in custody.

He has been on the run for about six years. Nobody else was arrested with him.

Asked what he was doing in South Africa, Martins-Engelbrecht said she could not divulge any further information as investigations were at a very sensitive stage.

Chenia is a UK citizen.

- SAPA