Indian man on Interpol list arrested in US

An Indian man, who is on an Interpol list and is wanted for smuggling cigarettes in UK, has been arrested at the city’s O’Hare International Airport as he was about to board a flight to India.

Anis Gulamras Vohora, 39, was on an “Interpol lookout” list and was stopped by Chicago Customs and Border Protection officers as he was boarding a flight to India over the weekend.

He was arrested by CBP officers pending confirmation of extradition to the United Kingdom, where he faces a four year sentence for smuggling cigarettes, the CBP said in a statement here.

Vohora was turned over by CBP to the US Marshal’s Service on Monday for extradition to UK.

It is unknown at this time if Vohora will be facing additional charges upon return to England.

“This apprehension is the direct result of that vigilance and attention to detail in apprehending Vohora and bringing him to justice,” said David Murphy, CBP director of field operations in Chicago.

Arrested along with three other men in August 2006 in the United Kingdom, Vohora was accused of seizing almost one million illicit cigarettes and 35 pounds of tobacco.

The operation led investigators to a residential house owned by Vohora’s business partner, where they uncovered extensive hand written ledgers detailing the organisation’s purchase and sale of more than 27 million smuggled cigarettes and four tons of hand rolling tobacco between November 2005 and August 2006.

The loss of revenue to the United Kingdom is estimated at around six million dollars.

In November 2007, Vohora failed to appear at his trial and a bench warrant was issued.

In October 2008, a British judge found Vohora guilty in abstentia and sentenced him to serve four years in a British prison.