ICE arrests one of Sweden's most wanted fugitives

PHOENIX - A Serbian citizen wanted in Sweden for drug-related crimes was turned over to the U.S. Marshals Service Thursday for extradition following his arrest June 10 by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement's (ICE) Enforcement and Removal Operations (ERO) in Phoenix.

Predrag Stojanovic, 44, is one of Sweden's most wanted fugitives, according to INTERPOL and the Swedish National Bureau of Investigations. In 2002, the Stockholm District Court in Sweden issued a warrant for Stojanovic's arrest for aggravated narcotics smuggling involving 184 pounds of amphetamine.

"We will not allow criminal fugitives to seek safe haven in the United States," said Albert Carter, acting field office director of ICE ERO in Phoenix. "Our ERO officers and agents work closely with their law enforcement partners to identify fugitive aliens and ensure they are held accountable for their crimes."

ERO agents were working with the Phoenix FBI Fugitive Task Force June 10 when they encountered Stojanovic. Stojanovic told agents he illegally entered the United States through Mexico in April 2010.

The agents who made the arrest are assigned to ERO's Joint Criminal Alien Removal Task Force (JCART) in Phoenix, which is dedicated to identifying and arresting foreign-born criminals who are at-large in Arizona communities. Since Oct. 1, 2010, JCART agents have arrested nearly 150 foreign-born criminals in Arizona.