PIX: Cops nab 'America's Most Wanted' Indian

An Indian fugitive from Canada, who was featured in 'America's Most Wanted' was finally arrested in California by the California highway patrol, and the police departments in Santa Monica, El Monte, and Los Angeles Homeland Security Investigators agents. The United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement released the news on Tuesday.

Ninderjit Singh, 33, has been accused of killing his former girlfriend Poonam Randhawa in Canada 12 years ago. Singh's arrest on August 19 marks the culmination of a manhunt that began in 1999 following the killing of his 18-year-old ex-girlfriend, Randhawa, in Vancouver, British Columbia.

According to investigators with the Vancouver police department, Randhawa was last seen in a vehicle with Singh near her school. Her body was found a short time later on a nearby street.

The break in the long-running search came within the last two weeks after local Homeland Security Investigations agents received information from the Vancouver police department that Singh might be in Los Angeles. Using the new leads provided by the Canadian authorities, HSI agents quickly located Singh, who had been making a delivery out of state, and began tracking his movements.

...

On August 19, around 11:30 am, CHP officers, working in concert with HSI, pulled Singh's big rig over in Irvine, California and issued him a ticket. Thumbprints taken during the traffic stop verified Singh was the murder suspect. After confirming Singh's identity with the Vancouver Police Department, HSI agents and local officers moved in to make the arrest.

"After more than a decade, this fugitive believed he was in the clear, but he underestimated the determination of Canadian and US law enforcement," said Claude Arnold, special agent in charge for ICE HSI in Los Angeles. "As this case shows, our borders will never be a barrier to bringing international fugitives to justice. Our goal is not only to ensure that violent criminals are held accountable for their actions, but to protect law-abiding citizens here and around the world."

"In a world where everyone wants instant gratification it is all too easy to abandon cases that aren't solved quickly," said Vancouver Police Deputy Chief Warren Lemcke. "We wouldn't let that happen to Miss Randhawa and her family, or any victim of a crime. We are grateful to our partners in the United States who helped us catch this man."

Singh's case was featured on 'America's Most Wanted' in July 2000. According to Vancouver detectives, the program generated a number of leads, but the fugitive had continued to elude capture until last week. The arrest was the result of close collaboration between US Immigration and Customs Enforcement's Homeland Security Investigations and homicide detectives with the Vancouver police department in British Columbia has led to the capture of an elusive fugitive.