A man with suspected links to terrorism has been captured and extradited to Platte County, facing a pair of felony charges. Ali O. Swei, 24, remains in custody at the Platte County Detention Center in lieu of a $75,000 cash-only bond. He was recently arrested in Florida after being wanted on charges filed this past October. Swei’s listed address for court records is Orlando, Fla.
Ali O. Swei
The case drew attention last year when a Kansas City, Mo. couple living in southeastern Platte County helped push their story into the media. After allowing Swei to move into their house while being sponsored for citizenship, they claim to have discovered his ties to a Libyan Islmaic militia and asked him to leave.
Swei moved out but then continued to contact the alleged victims and threaten retribution if they did not pay him.
In October, felony charges of attempted stealing by coercion and aggravated stalking were filed against Swei in Platte County court. The charges stem from a March, 2015 report made to the Kansas City (Mo.) Police Department.
In the probable cause statement, the couple claims to have met Swei during a Libyan retreat in Ohio, befriending him and offering to sponsor him for United States citizenship. He moved in with them and remained there until the husband — not named in the documents — claims to have overheard a phone conversation in early March between Swei and an unidentified person.
During the call, the victim claims to have heard the person ask, “What do you want us to do? We beat him up, and he still doesn’t have your money.”
According to the court document, Swei responded by saying, “Finish him.”
The husband said he later saw Facebook messages of condolences to the person’s family, leading him to believe the person discussed during the phone call was now deceased. The couple then looked at Swei’s computer after he left the house one day and observed items related to Ansar Al-Sharia, a Libyan terrorist group, regarding training and finance.
When confronted about his link to the group, Swei allegedly threatened to harm both of the victim’s families, alluding to killing family members and burning down houses in Libya. He asked for $30,000 apiece to be deposited into a bank account.
Swei did leave the house but continued to contact the victims, eventually lowering the asking price to $15,000 apiece.
On Wednesday, Feb. 3, authorities booked Swei into the Platte County Detention Center. He was scheduled to appear in court on Tuesday, Feb. 9.