Ghanaian fugitive arrested

Page 24/25: Daily Graphic, October 7, 2009.
Story: Albert K. Salia
A COLLABORATION among security operatives of Ghana, the United States of America and the British High Commission has led to the arrest of a Ghanaian fugitive, Edmund Osei, alias Jamal Michaels.
Osei had escaped from the state of New Jersey in the USA on February 8, 2000, where he had been indicted to be in court for what the US officials described as numerous violations that included seven counts of first degree armed robbery, eight counts of terrorist threats, three counts of hindering apprehension and seven counts of possession of an imitation firearm — all felonies under the laws of New Jersey.
After his failure to appear in court on January 10, 2000 following his arrest on July 29, 1999, the FBI issued a warrant charging Osei with unlawful flight to avoid prosecution.
The Director-General of the Criminal Investigations Department (CID) of the Ghana Police Service, DCOP Frank Adu-Poku, told the Daily Graphic yesterday that Osei was arrested on Monday, outside the premises of the British High Commission after his application for a British visa was turned down.
He said the state was preparing extradition proceedings at the court to extradite Osei, who is also known as Matthew Osei, to the US to face trial.
A top US security official in New Jersey, Mr Weysan Dun, is quoted to have said after the arrest of Osei that, “there aren’t many better examples of international law enforcement co-operation than this”.
“Beginning with the New Jersey Department of Law and Public Safety, extending through the FBI in New Jersey and abroad, through New Scotland Yard, and finally ending with law enforcement in Ghana, the grasp of justice around Osei got tighter and tighter until he couldn’t escape.
“The original charges he faced were for very violent behaviour that threatened the safety of everyone around him, regardless of whether he was in the US or abroad. Today, the world is a little bit safer because of the international teamwork of law enforcement. I extend my congratulations to all for a job well done,” he said.
For her part, New Jersey Attorney General Anne Milgram said the USA was “grateful to the FBI for their tenacity and thoroughness in tracking down and apprehending this fugitive, who has been wanted for nearly a decade for seven armed robberies in Atlantic City”.
“Those who commit serious crimes in New Jersey cannot escape the reach of the law by crossing state borders or even international borders,” she said.
Osei, a former poker dealer, had originally been arrested by New Jersey authorities on July 29, 1999 for an armed robbery in Atlantic City, New Jersey. Through subsequent investigation, state authorities determined Osei was allegedly responsible for a total of seven armed robberies in Atlantic City that included six casinos and a bank.
According to the state indictment, the casinos involved included Showboat, Resorts, Tropicana, and Bally’s Park Place Wild West Casino, in addition to a branch of Commerce Bank.
The seven robberies occurred between May 19, 1999 and the day of his apprehension on July 29, 1999. Osei posted bail in October of 1999 and was released. The State of New Jersey returned a 25-count indictment against him shortly thereafter.
When Osei failed to show up for his arraignment in January of 2000, a warrant was issued for his arrest and his bail was revoked.
Law enforcement agents later determined that Osei fled the state of New Jersey and on February 8, 2000, the New Jersey Department of Law and Public Safety, Division of Criminal Justice made a formal request to the FBI to assist in locating and apprehending the fugitive.
With the assistance of New Scotland Yard in Great Britain, FBI agents overseas were able to locate Osei in Accra North, Ghana, in April of 2009.
The long diplomatic process to arrange the arrest of Osei began and was completed last week.