U.S fugitive caught in Palma

Officers arrested Veloz, a man listed among the most wanted by the U.S. Secret Service, in a call centre in Palma in which he worked last week and he appeared before a remand hearing on Friday. He will now await extradition to the United States.

Veloz, alias Juegers A. De La Cruz, Juegers Ve Cepeda, was arrested as a result of an operation involving Interpol Madrid, the United States Secret Service and the National Police in Palma.

The fraud Veloz is charged with committing, occurred between 2009 and September 2011 in and around New York, where Veloz allegedly formed part of a criminal organisation dedicated to illegal mobile phone cloning.

The fraud cost legitimate phone owners $17 million and netted the perpetrators more than $250 million, a Spanish Interior Ministry statement said yesterday. He also has a history of regular travel between the Dominican Republic and the U.S., and connections to others under investigation in this case in Boston, Philadelphia, Scranton, Wilmington and Miami.

Apparently, Veloz was part of a gang which operated around the world cloning people’s mobile phones and then charging them extortionate rates to maintain their mobiles in operation.

During the process, Veloz and his accomplices were also able to access personal and private details of the phone owners such as bank accounts.