VancouverMETRO VANCOUVER NEWS
Vancouver police arrest international fugitive after distracted driving stop
Police say an officer stopped Halil Abrahim Akbalik in Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside on Friday and found an immigration warrant during a routine records check.
A Vancouver Police Department officer spotted Halil Abrahim Akbalik driving while distracted on East Hastings Street on Friday morning and pulled him over. A routine records check revealed he was wanted on a Canada-wide immigration warrant issued by the Canada Border Services Agency, police said. He was arrested and taken to the Vancouver Jail.
Authorities announced the arrest Tuesday. Akbalik is also wanted in Philadelphia, where the 25-year-old is accused of rape and other offences, and is being investigated by the Toronto Police Service’s fugitive team, authorities said. Since his arrest Friday, he has been transferred from Vancouver police custody to the CBSA.