China extradites first crime fugitive from Latin America
Suspected soybean oil smuggler returned to the mainland from Peru after eight years of negotiations
China has extradited its first criminal suspect from Latin America following eight years of negotiations, repatriating an alleged crude soybean oil smuggler from Peru who has been on the run for 18 years, the country’s customs bureau said on Sunday.
The General Administration of Customs said on its website that Huang Haiyong, evaded over 700 million yuan (HK$810 million) in taxes between 1996 to 1998 through selling 107,000 tonnes of smuggled crude soybean oil.
Huang and his two associates fled to the United Sates in 1998.
Interpol issued a global arrest warrant for Huang in 2001 at the request of Chinese authorities, the customs bureau said.
He was caught by Interpol in Peru in 2008 and the two countries began negotiating his repatriation, but Huang appealed against returning to China citing the death penalty and risk of torture, it said.