see also: in January 2008:   Customs-Trade Partnership Against Terrorism: A Year in Review   CBP, National Guard Announce Super Bowl Flight Restrictions   Cooperation Leads to Apprehension of International Fugitive   Border Patrol Seizes $109,944 Stashed in Vehicle   CBP Arrests Fugitive Arriving from Dominican into Puerto Rico   CBP and ICE Donate Thousands of Shoes to Charity   Operation Uniforce 8 ...more on cbp.gov:   CBP News Releases   Press Officers

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Niagara Falls, NY – U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) announced the arrest of a United States citizen wanted in North Carolina on three counts of attempted murder in the first degree.

On January 1, 2008 CBP officers encountered Sarorn Sary, a 22 year-old United States citizen residing in Stoney Creek, Ontario, as he applied for admission into the Unites States at the Rainbow Bridge border crossing in Niagara Falls, New York. Sary, who was traveling with his Canadian girlfriend, advised the primary CBP officer that he was enroute to the Canadian Consulate to extend his Canadian visitor status.  Record checks performed by CBP officers revealed that Sary was the subject of a nation-wide felony warrant issued on September 9, 2006 by the Lexington (North Carolina) County Police Department. The warrant charges Sary with three counts of attempted murder in the first degree.

During the course of the interview, Sary admitted to being affiliated with the Asian street gang “The Tiny Rascals” and had the gang’s initials tattooed on his stomach.  The gang, also known as the Tiny Rascal Gang or TRG, was created in California during the middle 1980's. It was formed by Cambodian youth gang members and is presently considered the largest Asian Street gang in the United States. Sary claimed that he has been living with his girlfriend in Canada since August of 2007.

After confirming the warrant and extradition, Sary was arrested without incident and turned over to the Niagara Falls Police Department pending extradition to North Carolina. "This apprehension was the direct result of CBP’s increased use of name inquiries during primary inspections at land border crossings, as well as CBP officers due diligence in apprehending wanted criminals" stated James T. Engleman, CBP Director of Field Operations for the Buffalo Field Office.

U.S. Customs and Border Protection is the unified border agency within the Department of Homeland Security charged with the management, control and protection of our nation's borders at and between the official ports of entry. CBP is charged with keeping terrorists and terrorist weapons out of the country while enforcing hundreds of U.S. laws.