(Trinidad Guardian) A man who eluded serving a prison sentence in the US for over 20 years while hiding here in T&T, was extradited to the United States on Wednesday.
The United States Embassy of Port-of-Spain revealed yesterday in a statement that T&T national Kim Maharaj was taken back to the US, where he is expected to begin serving time for a gang assault.
The statement said Maharaj will begin serving his 12-year sentence for a 1998 gang assault in the state of New York on December 14.
Marshals from the United States Marshals Service (USMS) and Diplomatic Security Service (DSS) agents assigned to the Regional Security Office at the US Embassy in Port-of-Spain escorted Maharaj from the capital city to the United States.
US Customs and Border Protection, the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the US Justice Department’s Office of International Affairs also played critical roles in the extradition.
The embassy said the T&T Court of Appeal dismissed Maharaj’s challenge to his extradition in November, ending five years of legal challenges. Maharaj was arrested in 2016 here in Trinidad on a DUI charge and authorities discovered he was wanted in the US.
Maharaj was tried and convicted on September 28, 2000, at the Supreme Court in Queens, New York, for assaulting a store owner by punching him in the face, while two other people held the victim down on September 7, 1998. Maharaj was sentenced on January 12, 2001. He did not appear in court for the conviction or sentencing. He was sentenced to 12 years in prison with five years of mandatory post-release supervision for second-degree assault, and seven years for second-degree gang assault.
US Ambassador Candace Bond said, “The US Embassy recognises the valuable assistance of the Central Authority of the Office of the Attorney General; Trinidad and Tobago Customs and Immigration; TT Airports Authority; and Interpol, the Special Investigations, and Traffic Index Units of the TTPS for their roles in ensuring due process of the law. This latest extradition underscores the effectiveness and excellent results of the ongoing diplomatic and law enforcement cooperation between the United States and T&T.”
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