In the Council of State a 41-year-old appealed Australianwho was arrested in Mykonos in July 2021, following a US Interpol red notice, as a member of an international drug cartel, involved in cases of cocaine importation and trafficking, as well as money laundering, and requests that he not be extradited to the US, at the latter’s request.

In particular, the 41-year-old was arrested by police officers of the Security Narcotics Prosecution Sub-Directorate and the American DEA, at the airport of Mykonos, in order to be extradited to the USA and is now a prisoner in Korydallos prisons.

According to his statement he is a citizen of Australia and is active in the field of construction, online trading and the sale of cryptocurrencies.

According to the US authorities, he 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 request of the American Authorities for his extradition was accepted by both the Greek courts and the Greek Minister of Justice.

However, the wanted person appealed to the European Court of Human Rights – ECtHR (temporary measures procedure) in order to suspend his extradition, until the Greek government requests clarifications from the US, regarding arguments-objections that he had put forward. The clarifications concern the penalties that will be imposed on him in the US in case he is extradited, as a possible sentence is that of life imprisonment, but also concern the conditions of his detention in the US, as he is dealing with health issues, as he claims.

Its release was postponed by the ECtHR and clarifications were requested from the Greek government, which were answered. Then the Minister of Justice (11.3.2023) gave an opinion in favor of his extradition.

Now, he has appealed to the Council of State and is asking for the controversial ministerial decision allowing his extradition to be annulled.

He claims, among other things, that the criminal proceedings against him in the US were the result of exceeding the permitted police covert activity to uncover criminal acts and that he himself was the victim of police entrapment, a claim that was never examined by the judicial authorities , which violates his right to a fair trial.

At the same time, he argues that the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR) is being violated and the decision allowing his extradition is unwarranted and does not have the required specific and detailed justification, while he also raises health issues, as he underwent pacemaker implantation while he was a prisoner in Hellas.