A former Chinese official, who went into hiding after being sought after by anti-corruption investigators in China, has been detained in the United States, a source of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) confirmed Friday.
"Xiuzhu Yang is in U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement ( ICE) custody pending removal to China, for violating the terms of the Visa Waiver Program (VWP). As a foreign law enforcement fugitive, Yang is an ICE Enforcement Priority, " said Lou Martinez, spokesman of the ICE New York Field Office in an statement Friday.
Yang is one of the 100 Chinese nationals suspected of corruption who are believed to have fled abroad. She used to served in government posts including as vice mayor of Wenzhou, a coastal city in east China's Zhejiang Province. When investigators started looking into her activities in 2003, she and her family fled to overseas.
Investigators have found evidence that Yang had accepted 253 million yuan (about 41 million U.S. dollars) in bribes. She is subject to an Interpol red notice.
According to ICE's detainee locator system, a Chinese national by the name of Xiuzhu Yang is being held at the Hudson County correctional facility in the state of New Jersey. Hudson County Correctional Facility is a county jail used by the jurisdictions of Hudson to confine inmates for short periods while awaiting trial or processing.
No other details, including how Yang came to the U.S. or authorities detained her, are available.
