C.B.P. News Release

Alleged Colo. Rapist Apprehened by Chicago CBP Officers

(Monday, February 14, 2011)

Chicago — On Feb. 13, U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers at Chicago O’Hare International Airport arrested Ali Ahmed Abooedella, 35, on a rape warrant after he attempted to return to his home country of Libya.

On Feb. 12, Abooedella departed the U.S. on a flight bound for Libya, via the United Kingdom. The warrant out of Glendale, Colo., was issued that same day. CBP quickly alerted the authorities in London of his arrest warrant and upon landing; Abooedella was denied entry to the United Kingdom and returned to the U.S.

As Abooedella stepped off the airplane in Chicago, he was taken into custody by CBP officers at O’Hare Airport, where he was processed, and turned over to the Chicago Police Department to await extradition back to Glendale. Abooedella was in the U.S. on a tourist visa when the alleged sexual assault took place.

“The use of a law enforcement databases and intelligence by CBP officers at international ports of entry is extremely instrumental in the apprehension of wanted and sometimes very dangerous individuals fleeing prosecution from this country,â€