STERLING, Va., – People are using handheld technology for more things every day. From sales clerks swiping credit cards in stores to security guards checking ticket authenticity at sporting events, handheld technology is enhancing routine processes.
Add federal authorities identifying alleged sex offenders fleeing the country to that list.
U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officers arrested Hau Trung Le, 44, of Chantilly, Va., on Tuesday as he prepared to board a flight to China. Le, a Vietnamese national, and U.S. lawful permanent resident, was wanted in Rockville, Md., on third-degree sex assault charges.
confirm a China-bound traveler as the
subject of an arrest warrant at Washington
Dulles International Airport on March 7,
2017.
CBP officers stopped Le during an outbound inspection. Le refuted his identity and allegedly stated that he was in the U.S. on a student Visa, though he was unable to produce that student Visa in his Vietnamese passport. CBP officers detected Le’s true identity during a biometric verification on a handheld device connected to a smartphone. CBP officers also learned that his I-551 (green card) expired and that Le had an outstanding arrest warrant.
CBP confirmed the arrest warrant and turned Le over to the Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority Police. CBP issued a detainer for Le 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 Wayne Biondi, CBP 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.”
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.
“As the nation’s border security agency, Customs and Border Protection recognizes the value that biometric detection technologies contribute in keeping our nation safe. We also appreciate the efficiencies that various technology provides in helping us to enforce hundreds of laws and regulations every day at our nation’s 328 ports of entry,” 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.
Criminal charges are merely allegations. Defendants are presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty in a court of law.