Emmanuel Makoi arrived from the U.S. on April 24, 2025. (Photo: Courtesy).

JUBA, (Eye Radio) – A South Sudanese national, Emmanuel Makoi, who was deported from the United States on Thursday, pleaded guilty in 2016 to being part of a prolific burglary ring in the U.S. state of Colorado, according to a court document and U.S. media reports.

Makoi was welcomed at Juba airport by Foreign Minister Hon. Monday Semaya Kumba, accompanied by the deputy interior minister, director general of Immigration, director general for Consular Affairs and director of Interpol.

A document from Denver Judicial District court has shown that the man, who was born on June 12, 1995, pleaded guilty to the Colorado Organized Crime Control Act (COCCA) and one count of second-degree burglary.

Makoi was one of seven key defendants named in a 139-count indictment issued by a Denver Grand Jury in 2016, which accused the group of burglarizing more than 50 homes across northeast and southeast Denver two years before then.

His sentencing was scheduled for May 2017, but it is not clear if he was indeed convicted of the crime.

According to CBS news, the organized burglary ring caused losses estimated at over $400,000, with additional property damage and vehicle thefts.

The indictment revealed that the group targeted unoccupied homes, often breaking glass windows or doors to gain entry, and made away with valuables such as electronics, jewelry, weapons, alcohol, and credit cards.

The stolen goods were reportedly sold through online platforms, pawnshops, and black-market dealers.

South Sudan’s foreign ministry confirmed Makoi’s arrival in a statement, adding that it had “warmly welcomed the citizen” in a spirit of cooperation between South Sudan and the United States.

Commenting on the issue, Dr. Geri Raimondo, a lawyer and former judge in the Court of Appeal, said Mr. Makoi is not under any threat of imprisonment in the country, because South Sudanese law says no citizen shall be convicted in South Sudan for an offense committed outside the country’s borders.

“No person shall be convicted in South Sudan for an offense committed outside South Sudan if it is proven that that person was tried outside South Sudan before a competent court,” Raimondo said.

“So if this person is South Sudanese, the directorate of immigration of South Sudan has the right to receive this person because a South Sudanese has freedom of movement, whether within South Sudan, to go outside or to come out from outside of South Sudan to his homeland in South Sudan.”