Bob Collins
Barkhad Abdi, the Minneapolis resident who played the pivotal role in the movie “Captain Phillips” has some explaining to do to U.S. Customs officials.
Fox 9 reports Abdi will meet today with customs officials after he was detained last month at Minneapolis St. Paul International Airport upon arriving back from an appearance in London.
Abdi is a “permanent resident,” which means his status is different than that of a U.S. citizen — and sources tell Fox 9 News that if he wasn’t a resident alien, he would have been barred from entering the U.S. because of his rap sheet.
His criminal record includes a drug possession arrest that took place two years ago in Iowa, but the charges levied against him for marijuana and khat were later dropped.
A decade ago, Abdi was linked to a theft case in South Dakota, and he was convicted of credit card fraud in Minnesota in 2005. A year earlier, he was accused of giving false information to police, and has half a dozen traffic violations — all misdemeanors and gross misdemeanors.
His past was reported last month by Daily Mail.
In a subsequent interview with the Daily Beast, Abdi said “Our mistakes shape us. You make a mistake and it makes you a better person. You learn from it. I wasn’t a complete man. I made mistakes to satisfy certain friends and to be cool and I took the consequences. I look back and smile now. Now I know not to do that, and how serious it was.”
This week, the Minnesota Twins announced Abdi will throw out the first pitch on opening day. He also signed on recently to be a spokesman for MNsure.
