Nigerian drug agents on Saturday
arrested a senator-elect wanted by the United States in a nearly 20-year-old
heroin deal that was allegedly the basis for the TV hit "Orange Is The New
Black."
Buruji Kashamu is under house arrest at his Lagos home,
spokesman Ofoyeju Mitchell of the Nigeria Drug Law Enforcement Agency told The
Associated Press. He said Kashamu, 56, will appear in court Monday to start
extradition proceedings to the United States.
Kashamu had already been suing a Nigerian court to prevent
attempts to extradite him.
Kashamu has said the 1998 indictment by a grand jury in
Chicago for conspiracy to import and distribute heroin in the U.S. is a case of
mistaken identity. He said prosecutors really want the dead brother he closely
resembles.
His lawyers called Saturday's house arrest a political conspiracy.
"This latest onslaught is a confirmation of the alleged
plot to illegally abduct him in spite of the pending suit against this
illegality," Kashamu spokesman Austin Oniyokor said.
At the time of his lawsuit, the United States had not filed
an extradition request. It was not clear when one was filed, but Mitchell said
that was the reason for Saturday's action.
The move comes days before Jonathan is to step down and
President-elect Muhammadu Buhari takes office on Friday.
A previous request to extradite Kashamu from Britain failed
in 2003. Kashamu spent five years in a British jail before he was freed over
uncertainty about his identity. He was carrying $230,000 when he was arrested
there.
A dozen people long ago pleaded guilty in the case, including
American Piper Kerman, whose memoir was adapted for the Netflix hit
"Orange Is The New Black." Kerman's book never identified Kashamu by
name, only citing a West African drug kingpin.
AP
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