Charles Taylor’s son arrested in Miami:

The arrest of Charles Mc Arthur Emmanuel came after United States Embassy officials in Port-of-Spain discovered two weeks ago that he had lied about his father’s identity when he went to the Marli Street Embassy to renew his US passport.

The passport was renewed, but US officials continued investigations into the application. Emmanuel was allowed to leave Trinidad. However, a local US Embassy official placed a note on their worldwide computer network, alerting US Homeland Security agents to be on the lookout for Emmanuel whenever he lands in the United States.

On Thursday, Emmanuel boarded American Airlines flight 1668 at Piarco International Airport bound for Miami International Airport. When he landed in Miami on Thursday night, he was questioned at length by the Immigration officer who immediately illuminated the red light. Emmanuel was taken into a room with several other persons, mainly Spanish, to be further questioned. It was there that he was detained by US officials. After his detention, federal agents were called in and he was taken to a location in downtown Miami. On Friday, Emmanuel appeared in the United States Southern District Court charged with passport fraud. He was remanded in custody and is being detained at the downtown Miami Federal Detention Centre, the same prison where convicted Jamaat Al Muslimeen high-ranker Lance Small is serving his 12 and a half year sentence for gun-running. Emmanuel will re-appear in court on Tuesday. Sunday Newsday was informed there are other Trinidad nationals serving sentences at the same prison.

Emmanuel, who was born in Boston in 1977, led Liberian forces who were responsible for Taylor’s security until he went into exile in 2003, according to an affidavit filed in federal court in Miami on Friday supporting the charge. Emmanuel, also known as Charles “Chuckie” Taylor Jr, was on a United Nations list of Liberians whose travel was restricted.

Taylor, the former warlord, is being held at the United Nations Special Court in Sierra Leone where he was charged with war crimes. He was arrested in Nigeria on Tuesday.

Emmanuel served his father in Liberia for the duration of Taylor’s rule from 1977 until August 2003, the affidavit said, citing an interview with Emmanuel’s mother.

Emmanuel travelled to Trinidad when he quit Liberia at the end of July 2003, passing through Dulles International Airport in suburban Virginia, the affidavit said.

US Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents learnt that Emmanuel applied two weeks ago to renew his US passport at the US Embassy on Marli Street.

According to the affidavit, he lied about his father’s identity on the application, indicating that his father was from St Vincent. Instead of having the passport delivered to him by TT Post, Emmanuel opted to pick it up himself. He then went to the local office of American Airlines, booked his ticket, and boarded his flight on Thursday.

Although his final destination was listed as Miami, US officials believed he was planning to move on to another American city in an effort to lie low.

It was not clear whether local Special Branch officials were involved in this exercise, but Sunday Newsday found out that Emmanuel’s mother’s name is Bernice Yolanda Emmanuel.