Australia court clears ex-Marine pilot’s U.S. extradition

April 16, 2026

Summary

An Australian court ruled Daniel Duggan can be extradited to the U.S. over charges tied to alleged military training for China.

Why this matters

The ruling advances a closely watched extradition case involving allegations of military training linked to China. It also underscores scrutiny of former Western military pilots accused of assisting Chinese defense efforts.

An Australian court ruled that the United States can extradite former Marine Corps pilot Daniel Duggan, who is accused of providing military training to China.

Duggan, an Australian citizen, was arrested in New South Wales in 2022 at the request of the U.S. government. Justice James Stellios said in a Federal Court of Australia decision Thursday that Duggan was eligible for extradition.

According to the ruling, Duggan was charged with conspiracy to unlawfully export defense services to China, conspiracy to launder money, and violations of the Arms Control Act. The judgment said the maximum penalty for the charges was 65 years in prison.

Australia’s government said it was aware of the court’s decision. “Duggan will remain in extradition custody in Australia until his surrender to the United States of America,” a statement Thursday from Attorney-General Michelle Rowland’s office said.

The allegations stemmed from work Duggan did with the Test Flying Academy of South Africa between 2010 and 2012, according to The Australian. His detention followed reports that dozens of British pilots were recruited to teach the Chinese military how to counter Western warplanes and helicopters.

Duggan served as a Harrier pilot in the Marine Corps from April 1989 to September 2002, including a deployment to Kuwait in 1999, according to the Marine Corps. He renounced his U.S. citizenship more than a decade ago and had been a permanent Australian resident since 2002, The Australian reported when he was arrested.

A legal clerk for Duggan, Lynn Stocker, spoke outside the court Thursday, according to The Australian. “Now it is a decision for the Prime Minister whether he wants to send an Australian citizen who has already been in prison for three and a half years into the hands of the Trump administration who has taken a close interest in this matter,” she said.

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World

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Central Command published a brief video of the encounter. U.S. Marines from the 31st Marine Expeditionary Unit later boarded the vessel, and the Touska remained in U.S. custody, the command said.

President Donald Trump said in a Truth Social post that “an Iranian-flagged cargo ship named TOUSKA, nearly 900 feet long and weighing almost as much as an aircraft carrier, tried to get past our Naval Blockade, and it did not go well for them.”

“The Iranian crew refused to listen, so our Navy ship stopped them right in their tracks by blowing a hole in the engineroom,” Trump added. “The TOUSKA is under U.S. Treasury Sanctions because of their prior history of illegal activity. We have full custody of the ship, and are seeing what’s on board!”

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The system follows a Feb. 20 Supreme Court ruling that President Donald Trump lacked constitutional authority when he imposed broad new import tax rates last April under a 1977 emergency powers law. Last month, a judge at the U.S. Court of International Trade said companies subject to those tariffs were entitled to refunds.

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“Last night, Shamim Mafi, 44, of Woodland Hills, was arrested at Los Angeles International Airport for trafficking arms on behalf of the government of Iran,” First Assistant U.S. Attorney Bill Essayli wrote Sunday on X.

“She is charged with a violation of 50 U.S.C. 1705 for brokering the sale of drones, bombs, bomb fuses, and millions of rounds of ammunition manufactured by Iran and sold to Sudan.”

According to Essayli, Mafi became a U.S. citizen in 2016. He said she worked with others on behalf of Iran and was preparing to board a flight from California to Turkey when she was arrested.