2 days Ago By [email protected] (Steve Bagnall)
A man has told of his shock after selling his rural home to a person on the FBI's most wanted list. Daniel Andreas San Diego, aged 46, was arrested in the Maenan area, of Conwy, according to the BBC and is now awaiting extradition. He was linked to blasts at a biotechnology firm in Emeryville and another explosion at a nutritional products company in Pleasanton in 2003, as reported by Sky News.
Now Aled Evans has opened up on how San Diego paid £425,000 for the house near Llanrwst , Conwy , in August 2023, using the name Danny Webb at that time, reports the BBC. "He was quite excited because there was a big woodland at the back he was into his mountain biking and that's what sold it to him, apparently," said Mr Evans. It sounded like the ideal place he wanted - but he wanted it for other reasons," he told BBC Radio Wales Breakfast.
Sign up for the North Wales Live newsletter sent twice daily to your inbox. Maenan is a quite area, which sits just off the A470, which is one of the main roads which runs through North Wales, located about 10 miles from Conwy. The house is a white villa with a balcony sporting amazing views of the rolling hills.
Mr Evans said it was not "in the middle of nowhere" but was along an unmade track on "quite a busy" public footpath through the wood. He added Mr San Diego had offered £15,000 over the asking price. "The day of the viewing he spent considerable time on the balcony looking at the view and that’s what sold it to him, apparently," Mr Evans said.
He told the BBC . San Diego was excited about using the woodland at the back of the house for mountain biking. However Mr Evans thought it was strange the buyer seemed unfazed about unfinished repair work, to a damaged summer house.
Mr Evans said Mr San Diego was a quiet, likeable man, who told him it was his work in IT that had brought him to Wales. Speaking to BBC Radio Cymru's Dros Frecwast Mr Evans said he saw Mr San Diego for around 20 minutes on the day he moved in. "He wasn’t in a hurry and was very cool about the whole situation," adding that the neighbours "never saw him".
However Mr Evans spoke of his shock when a neighbour told him over the phone, San Diego had been arrested. "It’s hasn’t sunk in yet. But it hasn’t affected us of course.
You couldn’t make it up. It was a perfect place to hide and he was besotted with the view from the house. His view for the foreseeable future won’t be half as good.
" The FBI alleges San Diego was "an animal rights extremist", who was involved in a series of bombings in San Francisco. The first bombing was in August 2003 with two explosions an hour apart on the campus of a biotechnology company. That was followed by a nail bomb at a nutritional products company a month later.
Following his arrest, a National Crime Agency spokesperson said on Tuesday: “On Monday 25 November 2024, officers from the National Crime Agency, supported by colleagues from Counter Terrorism Policing and North Wales Police , arrested Daniel Andreas San Diego, aged 46, in the Conwy area of Wales, at the request of the US authorities. He appeared at Westminster Magistrates Court today (26 November) as extradition proceedings began. He was remanded in custody.
” A North Wales Police spokesperson added: "A North Wales Police statement yesterday added: "National Crime Agency officers have arrested one of the FBI Most Wanted fugitives in North Wales. Daniel Andreas San Diego was detained in an operation supported by Counter Terrorism Policing, officers from the North Wales and Cheshire Armed Alliance Policing Team and North Wales Police yesterday, and now faces extradition to the US to face charges." See the news in your area:.
