Egypt orders extradition of Frenchman to Dominican Republic

France says Egypt plans to extradite a French citizen to the Dominican Republic, where he is wanted for his alleged role in helping two French pilots convicted of cocaine trafficking escape by flying across the Atlantic.

Christophe Naudin, a criminologist and aviation expert, was arrested while travelling in Cairo, Egypt, earlier this month.

The Dominican Republic has issued arrest warrants for him and two other French men suspected to be involved in helping the pilots, European Parliament member Aymeric Chauprade and politician Pierre Malinowski.

The French Foreign Ministry said Sunday it will “closely monitor” Naudin’s situation.

His extradition to the Dominican Republic is now “imminent,” Naudin’s wife Michele told BFM television.

The pilots, Pascal Fauret and Bruno Odos, say they are innocent and didn’t know the plane they were hired to fly in 2013 was loaded with 700 kilograms (1,500 pounds) of cocaine.

They fled the Dominican Republic on 2015, Oct. 27, despite an order to remain in the country pending appeal, after being convicted and sentenced to 20 years in prison.

They were arrested in Lyon, France, in November and have been jailed pending a parallel French investigation into their alleged drug trafficking. France says it won’t extradite them, a general rule regarding its own citizens.

source:AP