South Jersey Man Wanted For Rape Tried Boarding Flight To Mexico: Feds

PHILADELPHIA — A South Jersey resident accused of rape was apprehended Friday while attempting to board a flight to Mexico at Philadelphia International Airport, authorities said.

Adrian Castaneda Sanchez — a Mexican national and U.S. lawful permanent resident — was wanted in Maryland for felony rape and sexual assault, according to U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP). Charges were filed Wednesday against Sanchez, who lives in Pennsville.

Sanchez, 38, was taken into custody on those charges as he tried to get on a flight from Philadelphia to Cancun, Mexico. The Worcester County Sheriff's Office in Maryland had been seeking his arrest.

CBP officers turned Sanchez over to the Philadelphia Police Department to initiate his extradition to Maryland.

The arrest came as CBP officers vetted passenger manifests of international flights departing from Philadelphia. The officers matched Sanchez to his outstanding warrant, according to the federal agency.

Officers responded to the departure gate, identified Sanchez and took him back to CBP's inspection station. They verified Sanchez as the subject of the warrant, confirming that the warrant remained active and that the Worcester County Sheriff's Office sought extradition.

"The quick actions by Customs and Border Protection officers prevented a suspect of seriously heinous charges from fleeing the United States," Shawn Polley, the CBP's acting area port director for the area port of Philadelphia, said in a statement.