International fugitive Ruth Lawrence who was arrested in October last year in Bloemfontein, was on Wednesday evening, 24 May 2023 extradited back to Ireland to face charges of double murder.
Ruth Lawrence and her ex-fiancé Neville van der Westhuizen were both sought for a double murder that took place in Ireland during 2014.
Neville van der Westhuizen who is currently serving a jail sentence for another murder which he committed in Kwa-Zulu Natal, has also been arrested on the extradition request for the double murder in Ireland. His extradition process is currently underway in the Durban Magistrates Court.
The tracing of Lawrence and her extradition come as a result of collaboration between the Irish National Police, Garda Siochana whose team members arrived in South Africa earlier this week, and the South African Police Service INTERPOL NCB Pretoria; the Directorate Priority Crime Investigations; SAPS Detectives and Crime Intelligence.
The fugitive, Ruth Lawrence was on Wednesday 24 May 2023, escorted from Bloemfontein to Pretoria from where she was ultimately extradited later that evening. Lawrence was handed over to the Irish police who would subsequently take her back to Ireland to face charges of murder.
In the past five years members of INTERPOL NCB Pretoria have successfully arrested more than (60) fugitives wanted on extradition requests and INTERPOL Red Notices. Of the sixty (60) wanted fugitives arrested, forty-two (42) fugitives have been successfully extradited and a further twenty-seven (27) extradition requests are currently before various courts in the Republic of South Africa.
INTERPOL NCB Pretoria has also successfully managed to trace and arrange for the apprehension of (11) eleven wanted fugitives that have since been extradited back to South Africa to stand trial.
The South African Police Service through INTERPOL NCB Pretoria continues to work closely with global law enforcement partners to ensure that, South African wanted fugitives in foreign countries as well internationally wanted criminals hiding in South Africa are arrested and face Justice.