Man loses deportation appeal

A man who fled the United States after pleading guilty to a cocaine charge in 1995 has had his application for leave to appeal dismissed by the Court of Appeal.

The court said Robin Muller pleaded guilty in a US district court to a charge of conspiring to distribute more than 5kg of cocaine.

He was granted bail pending sentence and absconded. Arrest warrants were issued.

A provisional warrant for his arrest was issued in New Zealand in May 2006 and Muller was detained.

In the course of extradition proceedings, a question arose as to the time limit between the request for surrender and the arrest.

The matter was referred to the High Court, where Justice Geoffrey Venning held that there was no time prescribed in the Extradition Treaty between the US and New Zealand and the appeal was dismissed.

The Court of Appeal found that Justice Venning was correct in his decision and the application for leave was dismissed.

- NZPA