"Most Wanted" Suspect Told Police Station is Closed

Man wanted for murder in Sweden travels to another station 20 minutes away to turn himself in.

By Elizabeth Smith

A murder suspect had been on the lam for almost 15 months.

Swedish police turned away a murder suspect on the country's most wanted list, reportedly telling him their police station was closed.

Saleh Hadri, 45, had been on the lam for almost 15 months after being named the prime suspect for the murder of a local gang chief, according to English-language Swedish news site The Local. Upon returning to Malmo, Sweden, from his hideout in Egypt, he traveled to a local police station last week with a reporter from the Swedish Sydsvenskan newspaper.

After ringing the doorbell of the station at about 6 p.m., police informed Hadri on voice intercom that the station was closed. "Closed? I'm suspected of murder and a wanted man -- you guys really want to get a hold of me," the suspect responded incredulously. The officials responded by directing Hadri to another station, according to The Local. After traveling 20 minutes away to the other station, he was apprehended and taken into custody.

Still claiming his innocence in the November 2011 murder of Wolfpack Brotherhood's leader, Alex Ghara Mohammadi, Hadri had returned to Sweden to testify and clear his name. The taxi depot where Mohammadi was shot used to be Hadri's property, police authorities told the Sydsvenskan. Saleh Hadri's hearing is scheduled for Thursday, The New York Daily News reported.

Police commander Anders Oxelbrand credited Hadri's dismissal to continual site renovations at the station. "Things are a bit messy right now," he said.