Post by Scumhunter on Oct 26, 2015 3:47:45 GMT -5
(Above photo credit: amw.com archives)
Fugitive Profile as of October 26th, 2015: (based on archived FBI wanted poster)
Aliases: Omid Roshan, Omid Roushan, "Nino"
Date of Birth Used: October 31, 1970
Hair: Black
Place of Birth: Tehran, Iran
Eyes: Brown
Height: 5'9"
Sex: Male
Weight: 165 pounds
Race: White (Persian)
Nationality: Iranian
Scars and Marks: Tahvili has tattoos on his right and left arms of the face of a small child, a tattoo of a large cross on his back that connects to a circular flame design over his right shoulder (see photos below), and a tattoo of a pointed flame design over his right arm just above his chest. He also has a scar above his right eye.
Remarks: Tahvili may be in Germany; Tehran, Iran; Toronto, Canada; or Spain. He may have a moustache and goatee. Tahvili is considered extremely dangerous.
TIPS: Anyone with information on Tahvili's whereabouts should contact their local FBI office or the nearest American Embassy or Consulate.
Persian Gangster Masterminds A Prison Break
When Omid Tahvili was arrested in July of 2005 on kidnap and assault charges, Canadian authorities probably thought it'd be the last anyone would hear from the "Tony Soprano of Vancouver" for quite a while. In addition to his Canadian crimes, Tahvili also faced extradition to the United States for a telemarketing scheme he ran for three years that bilked senior citizens out of their money to the tune of $3 million dollars. With both countries prosecuting Tahvili, it seemed as though his life was to be led behind bars for quite some time. However, Tahvili had other ideas.
The FBI says that on November 15, 2007, the 37-year-old escaped from a maximum security correctional facility in British Columbia, Canada. Currently, there's an investigation led by the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) to see if a prison guard, Edwin Ticne, did indeed escort Tahvili out of the prison. What police do know is that Tahvili put clothes in his bed, covered them up with a bed sheet, and dressed up as a jail worker to escape from the North Fraser Pretrial Center. He hasn't been seen since and the FBI believed that Tahvili could be in Canada, the Middle East, or Europe.
A Crimelord's Empire
The RCMP says that Tahvili came to Canada from Iran in 1994, but didn't show up on their radar until November of 2000 when he was arrested with his brother-in-law for possession of three kilos of cocaine. The bust was the result of a joint effort between Vancouver cops and the RCMP to target mid-level traffickers who supplied street dealers.
The sweep resulted in 39 charges against 9 people and also turned up eight kilos of opium, half a kilo of methamphetamine, and 113 grams of Ecstacy. However, Tahvili convinced a judge that the drugs weren't his. By 2003, the RCMP recognized Tahvili as heading up one of the main gangs operating out of the region's Iranian community. At that time, his legion of gangsters numbered around 20-30 Persian expatriates.
However, authorities say that Tahvili wasn't content with his drug trafficking business. In 1999, he began a fraudulent telemarketing business that stole $3 million dollars from elderly victims in the United States, according to a joint U.S.-Canadian investigation. Police say that in one of Tahvili's scams victims would receive a call informing them that they were in the running to win the Canadian Lottery...all they had to do was pay fees, taxes, and handling charges. One of the victims was asked for an initial sum of $700 and was eventually told that she had won $1.2 million dollars: all she had to do was pay $5,000. By the time Tahvili's scam artists were done, the elderly victim had never received a penny and was out $20,000.
The telemarketing scam ended in 2002, but the next year, a U.S. federal arrest warrant was issued for Tahvili on January 30, 2003 after he had been charged with mail fraud, wire fraud, telemarketing fraud and aiding and abetting.
Where In The World Is Omid Tahvili?
In 2005, Tahvili was ultimately arrested on kidnap and assault charges. Tahvili had discovered that $300,000 of his group's drug money had gone missing. Police say that Tahvili believed his prime suspect was a courier who had worked for him but had fled the country to Vietnam. Canadian authorities say that Tahvili simply kidnapped the man's brother-in-law, sexually assaulted him, and interrogated him over several terrifying hours.
Eventually, the man was let go and Tahvili was charged after police discovered the extent of his involvement. Since July of 2005, he awaited trial in the maximum-security North Fraser Pretrial Centre until he escaped in November of 2007.
Currently, there is an international manhunt underway for Omid Tahvili. Authorities believe that he could be in the Middle East, Europe, or Canada.
Thoughts? The above was the archived case description for Tahvili, who was a web-exclusive case on AMW's old website. Tahvili has been described on some sites as one of the world's top ten most wanted fugitives. And when you have a wikipedia page dedicated to you, you pretty much have reached the height of fame as a fugitive.
If Tahvili is in Iran unfortunately I don't think anything can be done since there is no relations whatsoever between the U.S. and Iran or Canada and Iran. Then again, Tahvili did stay in Canada the first few years after his 2003 warrant was issued.
web.archive.org/web/20100714103139/http://www.amw.com/fugitives/case.cfm?id=51057#profile
www2.fbi.gov/wanted/alert/tahvili_o.htm
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Omid_Tahvili
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