Nigerian National Convicted For Resisting Deportation Orders

ALEXANDRIA, La. – United States Attorney Stephanie A. Finley announced today that Emmanuel Nwankwo, 54, of Nigeria, was found guilty by a federal jury for impeding or hampering his deportation.  U.S. District Judge Dee D. Drell presided over the trial.

Nwankwo’s trial started Monday and ended this morning with the jury returning the guilty verdict after deliberating for 14 minutes.  Witness testimony and documents admitted at trial revealed that U.S. Immigration Enforcement Agents (IEA) brought the defendant to the Alexandria International Airport on Dec. 11, 2012 and attempted to put him on a commercial flight.  The defendant began yelling and physically resisting officers, which prevented him from boarding the flight because of airline and Transportation Security Administration policies.

Nwankwo faces four years in prison, a $250,000 fine, and one year of supervised release for each count.  Sentencing has been set for Aug. 13, 2013.

The Immigration and Customs Enforcement - Enforcement and Removal Operations conducted the investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Seth D. Reeg and Cytheria D. Jernigan are prosecuting the case.