Swiss warrant executed in Grey Lynn

Tuesday, 26 August 2014 - 11:19am

Auckland City Police this morning arrested a 42 year-old Grey Lynn man who has been wanted on warrant for murder in Switzerland since the death of a 23 year-old woman in Basel in December 2000.

The man, a Sri Lankan national, arrived in New Zealand in February 2001 using false identification and travel documents and he was later granted New Zealand citizenship in 2004. On his arrest this morning he was also served with a letter from the Department of Internal Affairs advising him that the Minister of Internal Affairs may deprive him of his New Zealand citizenship.

There is no extradition arrangement between New Zealand and Switzerland but Police, through Interpol, have been working with Swiss authorities since confirming the man's identity and living arrangements in Auckland in late 2011, to carry out his arrest and start the process of his repatriation to Switzerland where he lived from 1990 until late 2000.

The man, a small business operator, will appear in the Auckland District Court later today charged with the December 13, 2000, murder of his former partner, Kavitha Kandiah.

ENDS

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