Guatemalan police arrested US software guru John McAfee on Wednesday for illegally entering the country and said it would seek to expel him to neighbouring Belize.

McAfee crossed into Guatemala with his girlfriend, to evade authorities in Belize, who wanted to quiz him as “a person of interest” about the killing of fellow American Gregory Faull.

“He entered the country illegally and we are going to seek his expulsion for this crime,” interior minister Mauricio Lopez Bonilla said.

One of Silicon Valley’s first entrepreneurs to build an Internet fortune, the 67-year-old made millions of dollars through the antivirus software.

Police in Belize say he is not a prime suspect. Government spokesman Francisco Cuevas said the entrepreneur would be expelled to Belize and he expected the process to be completed by Thursday morning.

Fernando Lucero spokesman for Guatemala’s immigration department said immediate deportation had been ruled out.

McAfee was taken to a residence belonging to the immigration department guarded by a small group of police.