Buffalo, N.Y. - U.S. Customs and Border Protection Field Operations announced the arrest of a citizen of Albania wanted in Illinois for attempted first degree murder.
On July 6, CBP officers received notification from Canada Border Services Agency that 37-year-old Ifriam Luzaj, a citizen of Albania with lawful U.S. resident status, was being deported from Canada and returned to the United States. Canadian authorities received information that the subject was living illegally in Canada, and was subsequently arrested by the Toronto Police Fugitive Squad. Record checks by Canadian authorities revealed the possibility of active warrants in the United States. Luzaj was deported from Canada by CBSA and returned to the United States via the Peace Bridge border crossing in Buffalo.
Upon Luzaj's return to the United States, CBP officers performed record checks that verified the validity of the nation-wide felony warrant and confirmed the extradition. The warrant was issued in August of 2004 by the Cook County, Illinois Sheriff's Department charging Luzaj with attempted first degree murder and aggravated battery with a gun.
Luzaj advised CBP that he entered Canada illegally in 2006 as a stowaway aboard a freight train, and did so to avoid being inspected because of his criminal record. He further claimed that he fled the United States in an attempt to avoid prosecution, and has been living and working in the Toronto area ever since. Luzaj was arrested by CBP and turned over to the custody of the Buffalo Police Department pending extradition to Illinois.