With the invaluable cooperation of the Greek and Dutch governments, fugitive brothers John and George Silah were arrested in the Netherlands after being sought by the FBI since 2008 for removing their children from the United States without the consent of their custodial mothers, announced the Assistant Director in Charge of the FBI office in Los Angeles.
John Silah and George Silah were wanted for the July 2008 abduction of their children from their homes in Los Angeles, California. A state arrest warrant for parental abduction was issued by Los Angeles County on July 31, 2008. A federal arrest warrant was issued for the Silah brothers on October 15, 2008 by the United States District Court, Central District of California, after they were charged with unlawful flight to avoid prosecution.
After following domestic and international leads in this investigation, agents with the FBI and detectives with the Los Angeles Police Department directed their focus overseas. Several months ago, the investigation led to the area of Athens, Greece. Greek law enforcement officers conducted an exhaustive investigation that led them to the Netherlands, where they collaborated with Dutch law enforcement. The investigative efforts of law enforcement in Greece and the Netherlands resulted in the identification of the Silah brothers and the victim children.
Once the whereabouts of the brothers and the children were known, agents in Los Angeles obtained a provisional arrest warrant that enabled law enforcement in the Netherlands to carry out the arrest of the brothers and to safely recover the children on Tuesday, November 2. The successful arrests and recovery of the children would not have been possible without the international cooperation of the following law enforcement agencies and organizations:
The Hellenic National Police, Attica HQ, Athens, Greece & Juvenile Crimes Unit
The Netherlands Police Agency (KLPD)
Dutch National Prosecutor’s Office
The Los Angeles Police Department
The United States Attorney’s Office in Los Angeles
The United States Department of State
The District Attorney’s Office in Los Angeles County
Agents with the FBI's Los Angeles Field Office
FBI's Legal Attaché in Athens, Greece
FBI’s Legal Attaché Sub-Office in The Hague, Netherlands
Department of Justice, Office of International Affairs
The National Center for Missing and Exploited Children
The Association for the Recovery of Children
Find the Children of Santa Monica
The victim children are being held by Dutch family protective services. FBI agents will travel with the victims’ mothers to the Netherlands to reunite them with their children. The Silah brothers are being held in the custody of Dutch police based on the provisional arrest warrant issued in the United States. There are pending state and federal charges for the Silah brothers. The United States government will seek justice for the victims, working cooperatively with our international partners.
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