The Council of State accepted the US request for the extradition of the 41-year-old Australian, nicknamed "Wild", who was arrested in Mykonos in July 2021 following a US Interpol red notice, as a member of an international drug ring, involved in cases of importation and trafficking of cocaine, as well as money laundering.
In Greece, he was arrested by police officers of the Drug Enforcement Directorate of the Security and the American DEA at the airport of Mykonos and is now waiting to be extradited to the USA and is currently in Korydallos prisons, Proto Thema reported.
The wanted person has stated that he is a citizen of Australia and is active in construction, online trading and the sale of cryptocurrencies.
The arrested person, according to the US authorities, allegedly participated from May 2019 to May 2021 in a conspiracy to launder the proceeds of drug trafficking in the Florida region and to distribute large quantities of cocaine from Colombia, through California, to Australia.
The prescribed penalties for the crimes he is prosecuted for are 20 years imprisonment and life imprisonment.
The request of the American Authorities for his extradition was accepted by the Greek Criminal Courts and the Greek Minister of Justice (11.3.2023). However, the wanted person had appealed to the Council of State and requested the annulment of the ministerial decision that gave the green light for his extradition.
In the SC, he argued, among other things, that the criminal proceedings against him in the USA resulted from exceeding the permitted police covert activity to uncover criminal acts.
He also argued that if he is extradited to the US, his health will be irreparably damaged due to the serious problems he is facing. And this is because he has had a pacemaker implanted while, at the same time, he is dealing with other health problems.
Now, the 4th Department of the CoE, chaired by vice-chair Spyridoula Chrysikopoulou and rapporteur Dimitris Mavropodi rejected the request of the wanted person (decision 2162/2023), ruling, among others, that there is sufficient evidence that suggests the guilt of the wanted person for the acts -criminal offences prosecuted.
The State advisers did not accept the arguments he invoked on the issue of his health, pointing out that according to the response of the competent US government agencies, there is a system of medical care for prisoners, and even if necessary, he can be treated in external hospitals.
Besides, it is noted in the decision of the Supreme Court that the wanted person does not claim that in the event of his extradition to the USA, he risks suffering a violation of his right to a fair trial, but neither does he cite evidence for the existence of such a risk.
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