Source: US FBI
On Friday, July 18, FBI Seattle took felony fugitive Salman Haji into custody in Nairobi, Kenya, as part of an operation targeting violent crime. Haji was wanted for the January 2024 homicide of Mingyuan Huang in the parking lot of a business in Tukwila in what the investigation has determined to have been an attempted robbery. Haji is also charged in a federal armed carjacking case.
“International fugitive investigations like this one require significant coordination with domestic and international law enforcement partners as well as our Legal Attaché offices, which advance the FBI’s mission worldwide,” said W. Mike Herrington, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI Seattle field office. “The FBI is committed to pursuing those who attempt to flee the criminal justice system and bringing them to justice, even when they seek to evade accountability by hiding overseas. This international operation was a joint effort by the Tukwila Police Department, FBI Seattle, FBI Legal Attachés Nairobi and The Hague, the DEA Nairobi Country Office, and Kenya’s Directorate of Criminal Investigations and Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions.”
“The Tukwila Police Department would like to thank the FBI and all the involved federal and international law enforcement partner agencies for their assistance in locating and taking Haji into custody and stand trial for the homicide of Mingyuan Huang,” said Eric Drever, Chief of Police, Tukwila Police Department.
The operation that ultimately led to Haji’s arrest is part of Summer Heat, the FBI’s nationwide initiative targeting violent crime during the summer months. As part of this effort, the FBI has launched a multi-pronged offensive to crush violent crime. By surging resources alongside state and local partners, executing federal warrants on violent criminals and fugitives, and dismantling violent gangs nationwide, we are aggressively restoring safety in our communities across the country.
For information on the federal case, view a press release from the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Western District of Washington: King County, Washington, murder suspect now indicted in armed carjacking in Seattle.