A cycling enthusiast dubbed the “El Chapo of the Cotswolds” over an alleged £5million drugs racket has lost a last-ditch bid to avoid being extradited to the US.
Matthew Grimm, 49, is accused of trafficking designer amphetamines in a multi-million pound operation.
If convicted, the businessman, who is a member of a riding club in the genteel Cotswolds town of Chipping Sodbury, Glos, could face up to 120 years behind bars over five drug charges and an allegation of money laundering.
In December, after then Home Secretary Suella Braverman gave the go-ahead for his extradition, Grimm launched a legal challenge to being tried in America.
But the dad of two now faces being flown to the US within 28 days after his challenge was thrown out by High Court judge Mr Justice Fordham last week.
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American prosecutors say Grimm and an accomplice “conspired to import” and traffic designer drugs such as the amphetamine Eutylone between 2015 and 2022. They also accuse the pair of conspiracy to commit international money laundering.
The drugs are said to have been transferred from the Netherlands to US-based customers via an online operation over nearly 10 years.
Grimm – dubbed “El Chapo of the Cotswolds” after Mexican drug lord Joaquín Guzmán – is the first person targeted by President Biden’s Executive Order 14059 aimed at combating the foreign drugs trade.
US authorities have already taken action to try to freeze Grimm’s assets, which allegedly include £5.2m in Bitcoin funds received from customers.
Grimm is a member of the local cycling clubHe has maintained his innocence since his November 2022 arrest – even challenging Florida state attorneys to “bring it on”.
Having previously revealed he cycles to “clear his head” while fighting his case, he did not attend the latest court hearing.
His solicitor, Jonathan Black, said: “He’s gone cycling today.”
Arguing his case before Mr Justice Fordham, Grimm’s barrister, Rebecca Hill, claimed the charges against him were unfair because they lacked any equivalent under UK law.
There was also nothing to show that Grimm had the necessary “criminal intent”, she said.
Ms Hill added: “Mr Grimm’s business operated entirely legally within the Netherlands, where the substances he sold were not prohibited.”
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But the judge rejected arguments that the US is not the right “forum” for Mr Grimm, who is on bail, to stand trial and refused permission to appeal.
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