STERLING, Va., – U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officers arrested two men Sunday at Washington Dulles International Airport.
Mohammad Asim Noumani, 41, of Springfield, Va., was wanted by Fairfax County, Va., Police on five felony counts of aggravated sexual battery of a minor. Noumani arrived on a flight from Doha, Qatar.
Mukhtar Aria, 30, was wanted by Arlington, Va., Police for brandishing a firearm on or near a school. Aria is an Afghanistan citizen and U.S. lawful permanent resident residing in Arlington. Aria arrived on a flight from Istanbul, Turkey.
officers arrest wanted fugitive felons
on aggravated sexual battery and
firearms charges at Washington
Dulles International Airport.
CBP officers referred both men to a secondary examination where officers verified each man’s identity and confirmed that the warrants remained active.
CBP officers turned Noumani over to Fairfax Police, and they turned Aria over to Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority Police. CBP officers placed a detainer on Aria for him to be returned to CBP upon adjudication of his charges.
“Customs and Border Protection officers sometimes encounter travelers with outstanding arrest warrants and we work to return them to the jurisdiction of their criminal charges,” said Elmer Jarava, CBP Acting Port Director for the Area Port of Washington Dulles. “This warrant arrest is another example of CBP’s collaboration with our law enforcement partners to protect victims’ rights, return fugitives to justice, and to help keep our communities safe.”
Criminal charges are merely allegations. Defendants are presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty in a court of law.
CBP officers routinely examine passenger manifests on arriving and departing international flights, and identify travelers who may require additional inspectional scrutiny, including those with outstanding arrest warrants. On average, CBP arrests 23 wanted persons every day at air, land and sea ports of entry across the United States. View CBP Snapshot to learn some of what CBP achieves ‘On a Typical Day’ at our nation’s 328 ports of entry.
“Inbound and outbound inspections of international travelers and cargo is one way in which Customs and Border Protection contributes to our nation’s security, and it’s a responsibility that CBP takes very serious,” said Casey Owen Durst, CBP’s Field Operations Director in Baltimore, the agency’s operational commander in the mid-Atlantic region.
Learn how CBP's Office of Field Operations secures our nation’s borders at international Ports of Entry.
Travelers are encouraged to visit CBP’s Travel section to learn more about the CBP admissions process and rules governing travel to and from the U.S.