Daniel Andreas San Diego, 46, was arrested on Monday by officers from the National Crime Agency, supported by North Wales police. Describing him as an "animal rights extremist", the FBI said he was alleged to have been involved in the bombing of two office buildings in San Francisco in 2003.
San Diego kept very much to himself, his neighbours said, and they knew very little about him. But they did not suspect for a minute that the reason he always stayed close to his remote home was because he was allegedly hiding out from the FBI.
"I've never seen him at all," a neighbour said. "He never goes out, the car is always on the drive, it never moves."
San Diego was never known to socialise with neighbours in Maenan, where only a few hundred people live - the majority of them Welsh speakers. Most people knew only by word of mouth that "an American man" had moved into the house.
He is believed to have been living under an assumed name. In the nearest town of Llanrwst, in the pubs and supermarkets, nobody recognised his face. The FBI had offered a reward of up to $250,000 (£200,000) for information leading directly to his arrest and considered him "armed and dangerous".
This story is from the November 28, 2024 edition of The Guardian.
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This story is from the November 28, 2024 edition of The Guardian.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
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