LATIVA: The prime suspect in the rape and murder of British student Jeshma Raithatha will appear in court in Latvia tomorrow, the first stage in extraditing him to Britain.
Viktors Dembovskis was held under a European arrest warrant just after 8pm yesterday at a bar in his home town of Livani, 150 miles east of the Latvian capital, Riga.
Jeshma's parents, Suresh and Manjula, were last night said to be "elated" at news of the arrest.
Speaking to BBC News, her aunt said: "It is difficult for her parents to be happy in the circumstances. But they are elated that someone has been arrested so soon."
Officers from Scotland Yard had been liaising with Interpol and the Latvian authorities in their hunt for Mr Dembovskis. Two members of the force's investigation team had flown out there to oversee the operation.
As Latvia joined the European Union in May last year, extradition procedures are likely to be fast-tracked.
Mr Dembovskis, a car-wash attendant, disappeared from the home he shared with other immigrant workers, close to where Jeshma lived in Greenford, west London, shortly after the 17-year-old was reported missing by her parents on Monday, May 16th.
He is now scheduled to appear at Preile District Court in south east Latvia tomorrow.
The extradition process could see him back in the UK within weeks or it could take up to two months, depending on whether Mr Dembovskis chooses to contest it.