A suspected animal rights extremist wanted in connection with bombings in the San Francisco Bay Area has been apprehended in the United Kingdom after more than 20 years on the run. Daniel Andreas San Diego, 46, was arrested on Monday in a rural area of northern Wales, according to the UK’s National Crime Agency (NCA).
San Diego, one of the FBI’s most wanted fugitives, is accused of planting two bombs at a biotechnology company in Emeryville, California, in August 2003. The explosions occurred an hour apart in the early morning hours. A month later, he allegedly set off another bomb at a nutritional products company in Pleasanton, California. While no one was injured in the attacks, authorities stated that one of the devices was designed to harm first responders.
The bombings were claimed by the Revolutionary Cells-Animal Liberation Brigade, an extremist group targeting companies associated with Huntingdon Life Sciences. The organization was a frequent target of animal rights activists due to its testing of pharmaceuticals, cosmetics, and chemicals on animals.
San Diego became the first domestic terrorism suspect added to the FBI’s Most Wanted Terrorist List in 2009. A $250,000 reward was offered for information leading to his capture. Despite being featured on television programs and billboards across the United States, he evaded authorities for two decades.
The fugitive, who grew up in Marin County, California, worked as a computer network specialist and was an experienced sailor. His ability to disappear baffled investigators, who last saw him in 2003 when he vanished into a San Francisco transit station under FBI surveillance. Since then, reported sightings spanned the globe, leading to searches in states like Massachusetts and Hawaii.
San Diego was arrested at a property near woodland in the Conwy area of Wales, more than 5,000 miles from San Francisco. Details of the operation remain limited, but officials confirmed he appeared in Westminster Magistrates’ Court on Tuesday and remains in custody, awaiting extradition to the United States.
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