An Indian resident attending a Rhode Island truck driving school recently was arrested following reports of suspicious behavior while preparing for his commercial driver’s license and hazardous-materials certification, according to media reports.
State police said the suspect, Mohammed Yusef Mullawala, 28, of Jamaica, N.Y., possessed driver’s licenses in New York, New Jersey and Rhode Island; meanwhile, the Bureau of Immigration and Customs Enforcement learned his temporary student visa had expired. The suspect provided a false statement that he was a Rhode Island resident when he obtained his driver’s license from that state, investigators stated.
The investigation of Mullawala was prompted by a Highway Watch report that he displayed “no interest learning the fine art of driving a tractor-trailer,” including backing up, according to the Providence Journal. Immigration officials issued an administrative warrant for Mullawala, and state police took him into custody Dec. 5; a hearing will be held in Boston’s Immigration Court. He faces deportation back to India and could be charged with identity theft, the Journal reported.
