FOR the first time ever a Slovak national sought by the country’s authorities was extradited from Venezuela and brought to Slovakia on October 30, the TASR newswire learnt from Police Corps Presidium spokesman Michal Slivka a day later.
Štefan Sinička, 33, was wanted based on an international arrest warrant issued by the Specialised Criminal Court in Banská Bystrica. He was sentenced to 20 years in prison for conspiracy and involvement in murder, but fled the country.
As a result, he was included on Interpol’s Infra Americas initiative to locate and arrest international fugitives.
The Slovak Police Corps Presidium along with Interpol’s office in Slovakia located Sinička on the Venezuelan island of La Isla Margarita in April 2013 and immediately got in touch with the local Interpol office. A year later, Sinička turned himself in to Interpol, whereupon lengthy extradition proceedings were launched, TASR reported.
Under tight security measures Sinička was brought to Leopoldov prison (Trnava region) on October 30 in the afternoon. This is the first case in which a Slovak national has been extradited rather than deported from Venezuela.
On October 9 another Slovak man who was being sought by police over alleged insurance fraud was brought to Slovakia after being apprehended in Cuba. The man - identified only as Radovan S. - made fraudulent insurance claims over fictitious traffic accidents. The man received €141,000 from insurance companies using bogus claims and, along with accomplices, placed claims worth another €27,000, according to TASR.
“Following close cooperation with the Cuban Embassy in Slovakia and the Slovak Embassy in Cuba, the first extradition of a person from Cuba to Slovakia took place today,” said Martin Waldl of the Police Corps Presidium’s communications and crime prevention department, as quoted by TASR.
Source: TASR
Compiled by Roman Cuprik from press reports
The Slovak Spectator cannot vouch for the accuracy of the information presented in its Flash News postings.
