Sri Lankan arrested in New Zealand

New Zealand police Tuesday arrested a Sri Lankan national who has been wanted in connection with the murder of a woman in Switzerland 14 years ago.

The 42-year-old man was arrested in Auckland later appeared in the district court, Xinhua reported.

A police statement said the man had been wanted for the murder in Switzerland since the death of his former partner, Kavitha Kandiah, 23, in Basel in Dec 2000.

The man arrived in New Zealand in February 2001 using false identification and travel documents and was granted New Zealand citizenship in 2004.

On his arrest, he was also served with a letter from the Department of Internal Affairs advising him that the minister of internal affairs might deprive him of his New Zealand citizenship, the statement said.

New Zealand had no extradition arrangement with Switzerland, but police, through Interpol, had been working with Swiss authorities since confirming the man's identity and living arrangements in Auckland in late 2011.

Police would start the process of his repatriation to Switzerland where he lived from 1990 until late 2000.

--Indo-Asian News Service

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