Originally Posted by
fastflyer
An acquaintance (US citizen) once traveled to Switzerland and returned with a past-due misdemeanor Boston traffic warrant (unpaid speeding ticket I believe) and he was detained in shackles at Logan airport until his roommate bailed him out.
I was surprised when I heard about this (circa 10 years ago), but apparently some of these jurisdictions treat scofflaws aggressively.
This is exactly the type of information I was looking for. In that case, access to local records would have been required in order for it to happen, as I think it unlikely that a traffic warrant was in NCIC. I also suspect that had the person arrived at, say MIA, that anything would have happened, as Boston would be unlikely to pay to have someone transported from MIA to BOS to satisfy a traffic warrant.
So I think the risk of being arrested has to take into consideration how serious the crime is and how far away from the warrant's issuing jurisdiction you are, both of which will affect the issuing agency's willingness to pay to have you transported.