A man has appeared in court on drugs charges after being extradited from the USA.
Anthony Gerard Maguire, of Bearna Park, Killeavy, appeared before Armagh Magistrates’ Court, sitting at Newry Courthouse on Tuesday, following the execution of a bench warrant to extradite him from the USA to the UK.
The 32-year-old, whom the court was told spent four months in a “high security” New York prison, appeared via videolink from Banbridge custody suite, charged with eight drugs-related offences.
He stands accused of three counts of possession of Class A drugs with intent to supply, three counts of possession of Class A drugs, possession of Class B drugs with intent to supply and possession of Class B drugs.
The offences are alleged to have occurred on November 4, 2013.
Defence counsel told the court that the defendant has been living in the United States and has been working in construction.
Detective Constable Longwill told the court that there was no application for bail at this stage.
District Judge Anne Marshall remanded the defendant in custody and adjourned the case until February 1, to appear at Newry Magistrates’ Court to fix a date for Preliminary Enquiry (PE) – the legal process through which a case is transferred to the Crown Court.
The man had been returned to Northern Ireland Monday by the PSNI’s International Policing Unit.
Read more: Man extradited from USA in relation to Newry drug offences
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