Joran van der Sloot Alabama Arrest Warrant for Extortion

More bad news for Joran van der Sloot, the number one suspect in the Natalie Holloway disappearance back in 2005.  Van der Sloot was taken into custody by Chilean authorities yesterday following the stabbing death of a young woman in a Peru hotel room registered under his name.  Van der Sloot had been seen with the woman in a casino just hours before the murder took place, then fled the country to Chile.  He was in Peru to take part in the Latin American Poker Tour.

Now he faces an arrest warrant on charges of extortion and wire fraud in Alabama, U.S. Attorney Joyce Vance said Thursday.

The complaint alleges that van der Sloot tried to extort $250,000 from an individual in exchange for the location of the remains of Alabama teen Natalee Holloway and the circumstances surrounding her death, Vance said.

Vance called the timing of the arrest warrant - the same day he was apprehended in Chile - "strangely a coincidence."

The Alabama investigation had been going on for about six weeks, she said.

The arrest warrant will go through the Interpol system in an effort to lead to van der Sloot's prosecution in the United States, Vance said.

Alistair Prescott, Gambling911.com