Business, Freight News, Logistics

Forwarder loses High Court extradition case

[ January 16, 2012   //   Chris ]

Retired freight forwarder Christopher Tappin has failed in his High Court bid not to be extradited to the US on charges of conspiring to sell batteries for Iranian missiles. However, his lawyers said they would continue to fight on and appealed to the Government to stop extraditions under the “one-sided” UK-US extradition treaty. They said they would try to block his removal to the US in the Supreme Court.

Campaigners had been calling for a moratorium on the transfer of suspects following a number of other high-profile extradition cases.

Mr Tappin, 64, a former director of Orpington-based Brooklands Freight Services, is accused of attempting to export batteries for Hawk air defence missiles, saying he was the victim of entrapment by US government agents. In December 2005, he arranged a shipment of batteries from the US to the Netherlands but a US company appointed to handle US import formalities, suggested by a business contact, turned out to be a front for US customs agents.