ICE deports man to Bangladesh wanted for attempted murder of prime minister

ATLANTA – A Bengali man wanted by law enforcement authorities in his native country for a 1989 bombing attack targeting a prominent politician was returned to his home country Tuesday by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Enforcement and Removal Operations (ERO).

Nazmul Maksud Murad, 43, is accused of participating in a 1989 grenade attack at the home of Sheikh Hasina, who was the head of a rival political party at that time. Hasina is currently the prime minister of Bangladesh.

In February 2012, an ERO Fugitive Operations team based in Atlanta arrested Murad in Lilburn pursuant to an arrest warrant issued in October 2011 by a judge in Dhaka, Bangladesh, and his unlawful status in the United States. Murad, who had entered the United States in 1996, was already subject to immigration removal proceedings at the time of his arrest by ERO.

"Fugitives from justice will not find safe haven in the United States," said John P. Martinez, acting field office director of ERO Atlanta. "Mr. Murad is accused of participating in an attempted political assassination, and thanks to the diligent work of our Fugitive Operations Team he will be held accountable for his actions in Bangladesh."

ERO officers escorted Murad on a commercial flight that departed Atlanta’s Hartsfield-Jackson Airport Monday. He was turned over to Bangladeshi law enforcement authorities Wednesday at the Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport in Dhaka.

Since Oct. 1, 2009, ERO has removed more than 720 foreign fugitives from the United States who were being sought in their native countries for serious crimes, including kidnapping, rape and murder. ERO works with ICE’s Office of International Affairs, foreign consular offices in the United States, and Interpol to identify foreign fugitives illegally present in the country.