Surinamese businessman Edward Quincy Muntslag, who is wanted in the United States for cocaine trafficking, has failed in yet another attempt to block his extradition.
Three Court of Appeal judges on Monday dismissed his appeal against the decision of Chief Magistrate Marcia Ayers-Caesar to sign off on his extradition upon the conclusion of his protracted extradition proceedings in December last year.
Muntslag challenged the decision in the High Court earlier this year. However, his lawsuit was eventually dismissed by Justice Charmaine Pemberton.
His attorneys attempted to challenge Pemberton's ruling on appeal. However, all six grounds raised by them were rejected by the court.
Delivering an oral ruling, Justices Alice Yorke-Soo Hon, Rajendra Narine and Prakash Moosai said that none of the issues raised by Muntslag had any merit.
Their decision now clears the way for Muntslag to be extradited provided that he does not chose to appeal the Court of Appeal's judgment in the Privy Council.
Muntslag, whose family runs a restaurant in Suriname's capital, Paramaribo, was arrested while shopping at Trincity Mall shortly after arriving in Trinidad in August 2013. He remains detained at the Maximum Security Prison, Arouca, after Ayers-Caesar refused his request for bail pending the outcome of his legal challenge.
Muntslag is jointly charged with Dino Bouterse, the 41-year-old son of Suriname's president Desi Bouterse, for conspiring to import five kilos of cocaine into the US and for using a gun during a drug trafficking crime between 2011 and August 2013. Bouterse was arrested in Panama shortly after Muntslag was held and has since been extradited to the US.
He was later slapped with an additional charge for providing material support to Lebanese militant and political group Hezbollah, which the US has designated a terrorist organisation. The terrorism charge arose from meetings in Greece and Panama with undercover US agents, posing as representatives of the militant organisation.
Bouterse is said to have agreed to take US$2 million to provide Hezbollah operatives with fake identities, weapons, including surface-to-air missiles, and locations in his country to establish bases to attack US and Dutch targets.
Bouterse pleaded guilty to the charges in August last year. He faces a maximum sentence of 15 years in prison when he is sentenced later this year.
The US interest was represented by attorneys Israel Khan, SC, Jagdeo Singh and Central Authority head Netram Kowlessar. Keith Scotland represented Muntslag.