US polygamy sect leader arrested

Warren Jeffs, 50, was pulled over by a Nevada Highway Patrol on Monday along with his brother and one of his wives.

He went into hiding in May after being charged in Arizona with sexual misconduct for allegedly arranging marriages between minors and older men.

Mr Jeffs leads the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints (FLDS) in Arizona and Utah.

Warren Jeffs, who is reputed to have 70 wives, took over the leadership of the church after his father Rulon died in 2002.

Road to heaven

The 10,000-strong FLDS split from the Mormon Church more than a century ago after the latter renounced polygamy.

The sect dominates the towns of Colorado City, in Arizona, and Hildale, Utah, less than a mile away.

Polygamy is illegal in the US, but the authorities have reportedly been reluctant to confront the FLDS for fear of sparking a tragedy similar to the 1993 siege of the Branch Davidian sect in Waco, Texas, which led to the deaths of around 80 members.

However, correspondents say the church is coming under increasing pressure from authorities in Utah and Arizona.