FBI arrests Australian businessman over Sydney “collar bomb” extortion bid

The Federal Bureau of Investigation on Monday arrested an Australian businessman in connection with an extortion attempt in which a Sydney schoolgirl had a fake bomb attached to her neck.

Madeleine Pulver, 18, endured what Australian police called 10 hours of "torture" as specialists worked to release her from what was believed to be a bomb earlier this month.

The device proved to be an elaborate fake but the incident sparked a major bomb scare in an wealthy neighborhood of Sydney and triggered an international manhunt.

The investigation culminated in the arrest of a 50-year-old man, identified by the F.B.I. as Paul "Doug" Peters, in a raid on a house in Louisville, Kentucky, by SWAT team officers.

Two Australian police officers were at the scene during the raid, which passed with incident.

"We will allege the suspect was responsible for entering the Pulver home and placing the device around Madeleine's neck," New South Wales State Crime Command chief Dave Hudson told reporters in Sydney, The Australian reported.

A man wearing a balaclava entered the Pulver home and strapped the device to Madeleine's neck, saying it was a bomb which he could trigger by remote control, police say. He also left behind a ransom note.

N.S.W. Police Commissioner Andrew Scipione said the suspect, whom Australian police did not name, would appear in court in the United States on Tuesday ahead of his extradition to Australia. He had not been formally charged.

Scipione praised the "simply outstanding" assistance of the F.B.I. as well as his own officers who responded to Pulver's terrified call for help.

A female police officer "sat with victim for hours on end until the situation was resolved", at a time when the device was believed to be a live bomb, he said.

The suspect was indirectly linked to the Pulver family but was not personally known to them, police said. He was a resident of Australia but regularly visited the United States.

Pulver's father, Bill, said the ordeal had been "baffling and frightening."