FBI offering reward for information on fugitive believed to be trucker

Izmir Ali Koch (FBI photo)Izmir Ali Koch (FBI photo)

The FBI is offering a reward of up to $5,000 for information leading directly to the arrest of an Ohio man believed to be working as a truck driver or dispatcher.

Izmir Ali Koch was indicted for failure to self-surrender at a West Virginia prison to carry out his sentence. The FBI says Koch injured a man he believed to be Jewish outside a Cincinnati restaurant in 2017. The agency says Koch made anti-Semitic statements and threw a punch that hit the victim in the back of the head and drove him to the ground, then continued to assault the victim.

Koch is an Ahiska Turk who came to the United States as a refugee from southern Russia, FBI says. The agency believes the man may be evading law enforcement in Russian and Turkish communities. He has previously resided in Huber Heights and Dayton, Ohio, as well as Holmsk, Krasnadar, Russia. He has ties to Rostov, Russia, and frequently travels to Istanbul, Turkey, FBI adds.

FBI says Koch is familiar with the trucking industry and could be working as a truck driver or dispatcher.

The agency says Koch should be considered armed and dangerous with violent tendencies. Anyone with information regarding the whereabouts of Koch is asked to call FBI’s Cincinnati Field Office at (513) 421-4310.

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