FBI fugitive's secret hideout goes under hammer for at least £300k

Two years ago, a remote bungalow in rural north Wales overlooking rolling hills concealed an extraordinary secret.

It was home to Daniel Andreas San Diego, who had evaded the FBI for 21 years after fleeing California.

Using the name Danny Webb, he bought the property near Llanrwst for £425,000 in 2023.

Tucked away in the quiet hamlet of Maenan, its isolation made it the perfect hiding place.

Now the three-bedroom house is heading to auction for £300,000.

San Diego, an animal rights activist from Berkeley, was accused by the US Government of planting three nail bombs at two factories in California in 2003.

Previously, Westminster Magistrates' Court heard that no-one was hurt when they detonated and a group called the Animal Liberation Brigade, Revolutionary Cells, later claimed responsibility.

However, San Diego became a prime suspect when he was stopped by police close to one of the factories. He was released, after which he vanished.

The court heard his fingerprints were later found among some bomb-making equipment in his abandoned car.

San Diego was considered one of America's most wanted fugitives and had featured five times on the Fox programme America's Most Wanted.

In November 2024, he was found and arrested.

In February 2026, he lost his fight against an extradition order and is awaiting his removal to the USA from Belmarsh Prison in London.

Recently, it was also revealed that San Diego had more than £20,000 in frozen assets confiscated by police.

The house in question is a white villa just off the A470, one of the main roads running through north Wales, about 10 miles (16km) from Conwy.

It is a sprawling community of farms and isolated cottages, many of which are now holiday homes or holiday lets. There is no shop or village pub.

Many of the properties that you pass on the way to Llidiart y Coed appear to be holiday homes.

The property is described by the estage agents, Auction House Wales, as "quite a rare style property" in a "secluded niche location".

"Boasting reaching views across the Conwy Valley, this gives you a real sense of the countryside lifestyle," the advertisment said.

It is located by a single track lane access and the listing said there was "scope to refurbish and improve".

Previously, the man who sold the home to San Diego in August 2023 said it was the ideal location "if you wanted to keep your head down".

Aled Evans sold the house for £425,000, saying San Diego offered £15,000 over the asking price.

"He was quite excited because there was a big woodland at the back, he was into his mountain biking and that's what sold it to him, apparently," Evans said.

"It sounded like the ideal place he wanted - but he wanted it for other reasons."