Inside the modest Welsh bungalow where one of America’s most wanted defied the FBI as they hunted the globe for him over deadly bombings plot
One of America’s most wanted men, on the run from the law after planting two bombs at a biotechnology company, has taken refuge in the remote Welsh countryside.
Animal rights activist Daniel Andreas San Diego (46) was among the world’s ‘most wanted terrorists’ after two bombs were detonated on the Emeryville campus in San Francisco, California, in August 2003.
The bombs exploded an hour apart. Luckily, no one was injured in the explosions.
He fled the US from San Diego and headed to rural Wales, where he disappeared from authorities for 21 years.
He eventually arrived in the sleepy hamlet of Maenan, near Llanrwst in North Wales, under a new alias, Danny Webb.
The fugitive bought a bungalow for £425,000 in 2023 and told unsuspecting neighbors that he worked in the IT sector.
This was where his past finally caught up with him and he was arrested a year later.
Daniel Andreas, 46, of San Diego (pictured) was among the FBI’s ‘most wanted terrorists’ following two bombings in the San Francisco area in August 2003.
San Diego fled to the Welsh countryside and bought an isolated bungalow on a hillside
Minimalist house hid San Diego now-known as Danny Webb during the final year of his two-decade runaway life
San Diego was linked to a group called the Animal Liberation Brigade, which claimed responsibility for a series of bombings against companies with ties to animal testing.
A year after the Emeryville bombings, another bomb wrapped with nails to produce shrapnel was detonated at the Shaklee Corporation in Pleasanton, California.
No one was injured in the attack, but the Animal Liberation Brigade once again claimed responsibility for the attack.
Both targets were linked to Huntingdon Life Sciences, an animal testing laboratory based in Cambridgeshire, United Kingdom.
He was arrested and interrogated by police in San Diego, USA, but escaped after being released. His fingerprints were later found on bomb-making equipment.
He became the first domestic terrorism suspect to appear on the FBI’s most wanted list and was described as ‘armed and dangerous’.
The bureau highlighted his skills ‘as a computer expert’ and offered a $250,000 reward for his capture.
He moved to the UK and created his clever moniker, replacing Daniel with Danny and boasting of his technological skills through his new surname Webb.
Danny Webb was eight months older than San Diego and was born in Ireland rather than the United States.
The secluded house is only accessible from a single lane followed by a dirt road and offers views over the Conwy Valley and the main road into the village.
Living room inside the house, wood stove and a hole in the back wall
Allegedly linked to the bombing of a biotechnology company in Emeryville (Pictured in 2003)
In September 2003, a bomb wrapped in nails exploded at a food products company in Pleasanton, but no one was injured, according to the FBI (Image: Emergency response in Emeryville in 2003)
Tucked away on a hillside in the countryside, San Diego has found the perfect hiding spot.
Isolated from nearby homes and accessible only by a 1.5-mile single-track road and a steep dirt road, the criminal would find it easy to keep a low profile.
The hillside house gave him a vantage point from which he could view the Conwy Valley and the A470, the only main road into and out of the hamlet.
The property had three bedrooms, a lounge, and a kitchen-dining room, but it is unlikely that San Diego hosted many friends during his time there.
Previous owner Aled Evans sold the house to San Diego for £15,000 more than the asking price, saying the house was an ideal place ‘if you don’t want to put your head down’.
Mr Evans said: ‘He was quite excited because there was a big area of woodland out the back, he was into mountain biking and apparently that’s what sold it to him.
‘It seemed like the ideal place he wanted, but he wanted it for other reasons.’
San Diego made five appearances on Fox’s America’s Most Wanted before his arrest in November 2024.
The National Crime Agency, together with North Wales Police, detained the fugitive near Conwy.
He is currently being held in London’s Belmarsh Prison and faces extradition to the US.
The property he left behind is now up for auction for £300,000.
The alleged terrorist was found on a rural property near woodland in the Conwy area.
Pictured at top alongside a few computer retouches showing what Daniel Andreas San Diego might have looked like over the years
Deputy Director of the Counterterrorism Bureau Michael J. Heimbach announced the San Diego arrest
The FBI said the 46-year-old is known to follow a vegan diet and does not eat foods containing meat or animal products.
He was also known as a skilled sailor and traveled internationally, the bureau said.
San Diego also has numerous tattoos that have been “significantly altered or covered by new tattoos,” the agency said.
One of the tattoos in the middle of his chest had a circular image of burning hillsides, with the words ‘it only takes a spark’ written next to it.
The former computer networking expert also had tattoos on his abdomen and back depicting burning and collapsing buildings, as well as a tattoo of a single leafless tree on his back.
FBI Director Christopher Wray said: ‘There’s a right way and a wrong way to express your views in our country, and resorting to violence and destruction of property is not the right way.’
‘Daniel San Diego’s arrest after more than 20 years… shows that no matter how long it takes, the FBI will find you and hold you accountable.’
An NCA spokesperson said: ‘On Monday 25 November 2024, National Crime Agency officers, supported by colleagues from Counter Terrorism Police and North Wales Police, arrested 46-year-old Daniel Andreas San Diego in Conwy, Wales, at the request of US authorities.
