Man on "Most Wanted" list extradited to Detroit for drug trafficking charges
(CBS DETROIT) - A 41-year-old man on Homeland Security Investigation's 10 Most Wanted list is extradited by the Canadian government to the U.S. for drug trafficking charges.
According to the U.S. Attorney's Office, Khaophone Sychantha appeared in federal court in Detroit Thursday.
Officials say Sychantha was indicted in the Eastern District of Michigan in December 2005. Sychantha is charged with conspiring to possess with intent to distribute methamphetamine, ecstasy, BZP and marijuana between 2003 and 2011. He was also charged with three counts of possessing with the intent to distribute methamphetamine and ecstasy.
A superseding indictment in October 2013 led to charges against Sychantha and three other people.
He was also charged and arrested in Canada on three different cases. He fled while under house arrest in Canada, resulting in him being added to the most wanted list.
Sychantha was arrested in Montreal in 2017 after allegedly assaulting a police officer. He contested his extradition since his 2017 arrest.
"I commend the work of the agents from HSI and Canadian law enforcement for pursuing this long-time fugitive and significant drug trafficker," said U.S. Attorney Dawn Ison in a statement. "Thanks to the coordinated efforts of our international partners, Sychantha will now face justice in the United States."