METHUEN — Rafael Arias-Baez was deported after conviction on a felony drug charge.
But he made his way back to this country and Monday was driving a car at Lawrence Street and Locust Road when he was stopped about 12:10 p.m. by Officer Christine Nicolosi, who noticed there was no inspection sticker on the car, Lt. Michael Wnek said.
Nicolosi arrested Arias-Baez, who is from the Dominican Republic, and charged him with giving a false name to a police officer and driving without a license.
Arias-Baez, 28, of 140 S. Union St., Lawrence, was fingerprinted and his prints were sent to the FBI and processed through the Automated Fingerprint Identification System (AFIS).
"We got a hit back from AFIS that Arias-Baez is a previously deported felon," Wnek said. "They gave us his true identity." Police did not know yesterday exactly when he had been deported.
Arias-Baez was also wanted on a default warrant from Andover police on a felony drug charge, Wnek said.
"He has used multiple aliases and dates of birth," Wnek said.
He said the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency of the Department of Homeland Security has lodged a detainer with the department, and he will be turned over to the federal agency following his arraignment in Lawrence District Court on the new charges.
