Federal Agents Couldn’t Arrest A FIFA Official Until His Cruise Ship Docked

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On Thursday, news broke that the United States was arresting 16 more FIFA officials on charges of a corruption scheme that dates back nearly a quarter-century.

While most of the officials were rounded up on Thursday, authorities had to wait an extra day to bring in Héctor Trujillo, the general secretary of the Guatemalan soccer federation, because he was hilariously in the middle of an island cruise when the charges were brought about.

Officials had to wait for the cruise ship to dock in Florida, at which point they boarded it and brought Trujillo into custody, via The New York Times.

Mr. Trujillo, 62, had been on an island cruise on Thursday when the Justice Department announced charges against him and 15 others. Checking the cruise itinerary, federal agents saw that there were no other stops before the ship arrived in Port Canaveral, Fla.

It was unclear whether Mr. Trujillo was aware of the indictments while at sea, but Internet access and phone service are available on many cruise lines.

At around 6 a.m. on Friday, agents with Customs and Border Protection boarded the ship and arrested Mr. Trujillo without incident, Ms. Langmesser said.

As for what exactly Trujillo (who also serves as a judge in Guatemala) was arrested for, he is being accused of “accepting money from business executives in exchange for lucrative sports marketing contracts,” which sounds about right.

No word if Sepp Blatter plans to go on an international snorkeling trip before the next round of FIFA officials are set to be brought in.

(Via The New York Times)

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