China extradites escaped American armed robber to US
Man fled to Guangzhou while on run after absconding from prison in the United States
Naquan Ferguson, 31, from Brooklyn in New York, was handed over to US officials at Guangzhou International Airport on Friday, the state-run news agency Xinhua reported.
Ferguson took part in an armed robbery on a jewellery store in Greenwich, Connecticut in 2011, stealing five Rolex watches worth more than US$60,000, according to the article.
He was jailed in 2014 for 8½ years, but was released briefly on a bond later the same year and failed to return.
Interpol issued a notice for his arrest and Ferguson fled to Guangzhou while on the run in February this year, according to the report.
The US Justice Department had asked for help from the Chinese police in tracking the fugitive down, the China News Service reported.
The United States handed two Chinese fugitives back to China in June and August this year, the article said.
Such cooperation between the Chinese and US officials is made on a case-by-case basis as the two countries do not have an extradition treaty .
Many Western countries are wary of sending criminal suspects back to China, fearing they will not receive a fair trial in state-controlled courts.
