Animal rights extremist wanted for U.S. bombings caught in Wales after more than 20 years on the run

An animal rights extremist believed to be behind a pair of bombings in Northern California more than two decades ago was caught in Wales, authorities said Tuesday.

Daniel Andreas San Diego, 46, was captured by North Wales Police and officers with the National Crime Agency (NCA) and the U.K.’s Counter Terrorism Police on Monday, the NCA said.

FBI Director Christopher Wray celebrated San Diego’s capture, saying that the suspect will finally be held “accountable” for his alleged acts of “violence and destruction.”

“Daniel San Diego’s arrest after more than 20 years as a fugitive for two bombings in the San Francisco area shows that no matter how long it takes, the FBI will find you and hold you accountable,” Wray said in a statement.

San Diego has been linked to two homemade pipe bombs that went off on Aug. 28, 2003, at Chiron Corp., a biotech company in Emeryville, just across the bay from San Francisco.

He’s also accused of sending a “bomb strapped with nails” that went off at a nutritional company, Shaklee Corp., in nearby Pleasanton, on Sept. 26, 2003.

The FBI believed that San Diego, who was born in Berkeley, bombed the firms because they’d worked with another lab that had conducted animals experiments.

The FBI had described San Diego as a vegan who had worked as a computer network specialist.

“There’s a right way and a wrong way to express your views in our country, and turning to violence and destruction of property is not the right way,” Wray added.

No one was injured in the 2003 blasts.

Chiron Corp. was acquired in 2005 by Novartis AG, and a representative for the Swiss pharmaceutical giant could not be immediately reached for comment on Tuesday.

“As a matter of policy, Shaklee Corporation is opposed to and does not conduct animal testing of any kind on any Shaklee product,” according to a statement on the California company’s website.

A spokesperson for Shaklee also could not be immediately reached for comment on Tuesday.

This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.