Czech national deported from Kenya after 15 years on the run

Kenyan authorities, in collaboration with the Czech Police, over the weekend deported a Czech fugitive who has been on the run for 15 years.

According to the Transnational Organised Crime Unit (TOCU), Miroslav Brazda was arrested by Immigration officers as he attempted to cross the Oloitoktok border without the requisite travel documents.

The Czech national had been living in Boma Ngombe village in Moshi, Tanzania.

Brazda, 61, was placed on the Interpol red notice after he fled the Czech Republic in 2006 following his involvement in defrauding a bank.

According to officers, he went off the law enforcement’s radar but resurfaced a month ago when he sought to renew his Czech passport.

Collaborative efforts between the Immigration Department and TOCU officers led to his arrest.

Officers from the Czech Republic confirmed the details of Brazda’s criminality and a joint operation was planned to escort him back home to serve a pending jail term.

The Czech national police unit shared photos of Brazda’s arrest on his arrival in Prague.

His deportation comes barely a week after the removal of Isaac Sturgeon, an American sought by the FBI for storming the US Capitol in January 2020.

Sturgeon, 32, was arrested by the FBI on arrival at John Fitzgerald Kennedy (JFK) Airport, New York, after Kenyan authorities deported him following his involvement in the US riots.

Sturgeon had been staying in Kenya since January 24 and had planned to return to the US in April, according to the BBC.

He is said to have flown into Kenya after texting acquaintances, querying whether he was a wanted man. 
Sturgeon has been charged with seven counts, including assault, resisting or impeding officers, engaging in physical violence in a restricted building and acts of violence.

He was, however, released on a $250,000 bond (Sh27 million).