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  4. Dulles CBP Arrests Boston’s Alleged ‘Incognito Bandit’ Bank Robber Fleeing the U.S.

Dulles CBP Arrests Boston’s Alleged ‘Incognito Bandit’ Bank Robber Fleeing the U.S.

Release Date
Mon, 03/27/2017

*Editor’s note: For additional details, view the Incognito Bandit arrest press release from the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Massachusetts.

STERLING, Va. — U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers arrested Albert Taderera, wanted by the FBI as a suspect in 16 Boston area bank robberies, as he attempted to board a flight to South Africa at Washington Dulles International Airport about 5 p.m. Friday.

The FBI Boston Division’s Violent Crimes Task Force named this alleged serial bank robber as the “Incognito Bandit.”

Taderera, 36, of Brighton, Mass., was charged by criminal complaint with the Oct. 7, 2016, robbery of a branch of the TD Bank in Wayland, Mass. The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Massachusetts is prosecuting Taderera.

According to court documents, between February 2015 and March 2017, 16 banks were robbed in the Metro-West and Greater Boston areas. In most of the robberies, the robber was disguised in a dark hooded sweatshirt, dark face mask/sunglasses covering his face, dark gloves and dark clothing. In most of the robberies, the robber displayed what tellers described as a black semi-automatic handgun. Read the U.S. Attorney’s Office Incognito Bandit news release for additional details.

CBP officer observing travelers
CBP officers arrested the suspected
"Incognito Bandit," the alleged Boston
bank robber at Washington Dulles
International Airport on March 24,
2017.

Court documents state that witnesses described observing the robber leave in a black BMW sedan. On March 16, Concord, Mass., Police Department officers identified Taderera as a possible suspect following a vehicle stop of a black BMW sedan.  Officers impounded the vehicle due to the vehicle registration being revoked.

Court documents further state that Boston CBP officers alerted FBI special agents on Thursday that Taderera had booked a Friday flight to Ethiopia. He then rebooked his flight to South Africa. CBP officers encountered Taderera in the jetway at Washington Dulles International Airport, confirmed his identity, and arrested him. Officers then turned Taderera over to agents from the FBI Boston Division.

Charges and allegations contained in criminal complaints are merely accusations.  Defendants are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.

“As the nation’s border security agency, Customs and Border Protection knows precisely who is arriving and departing the United States. It is this unique capability that CBP contributes to our law enforcement partners in capturing wanted persons such as the alleged Incognito Bandit, and in helping to keep our communities safe,” said Casey Owen Durst, CBP’s Field Operations Director in Baltimore, the agency’s operational commander in the mid-Atlantic region.

CBP officers routinely examine passenger manifests of arriving and departing international flights and sometimes encounter persons requiring additional inspectional scrutiny. On a typical day during 2016, CBP officers arrested 22 wanted criminals at our nation’s 328 international ports of entry. Learn more about what CBP's accomplishes in "A Typical Day."

CBP Office of Field Operations routinely conducts inspection operations on arriving and departing international flights and intercepts narcotics, weapons, currency, prohibited agriculture products, and other illicit items at our nation’s 328 international ports of entry.

Learn how CBP's Office of Field Operations secures our nation's borders at our international Ports of Entry.

Last Modified: Feb 03, 2021