Fugitive in drug case arrested in Bulgaria 

By Tony Gordon
Daily Herald Legal Affairs Writer
Posted Wednesday, October 12, 2005

A former Island Lake man who walked away from his trial on drug charges more than two 

years ago is in police custody in Bulgaria, a Lake County prosecutor said Tuesday. 

Besnick Saliu, 35, was arrested over the weekend as he tried to cross the border from Macedonia, 

Assistant State's Attorney Matthew Hoffman said. 

Saliu, the former owner of the Island Cafe, disappeared Aug. 1, 2003, 

at the end of the first day of his trial for selling a pound of cocaine to 

undercover police officers. 

The trial continued in Saliu's absence; he was convicted and sentenced 

to 30 years in prison two months later. 

The FBI issued a worldwide alert for Saliu after his disappearance, and 

Hoffman said those efforts led to his capture. 

Saliu was originally arrested after he tried to sell the cocaine for $14,500 to agents of the 

Lake County Metropolitan Enforcement Group in a parking lot at routes 12 and 22 in Lake Zurich. 

Hoffman said officials of the U.S. Department of Justice’s Office of International Affairs 

are in talks with Bulgarian officials to arrange for Saliu’s return to the United States. 

He could not predict how long it would take to get Saliu back, but Hoffman said Saliu 

will be held without bond when he is returned.