THE HIGH Court has reserved judgment on an application by British authorities for the extradition of Englishman Perry Wharrie, who is serving a 30-year jail sentence here for his role in a major cocaine smuggling operation in Co Cork.
The return of London-born Wharrie (50), Pyrles Lane, Loughton, Essex, is being sought for allegedly breaching conditions of his release on licence having served a sentence for the armed robbery of a Securicor van at Barclay's Bank, Hemel Hempstead, on April 14th, 1988, during which a police officer was shot dead.
The British authorities claim Wharrie was released on licence in April 2005 on conditions including that he not leave the UK without permission. They claim Wharrie left his home address in Essex in 2007 without leaving a forwarding address.
At the High Court yesterday, Mr Justice Michael Peart reserved judgment until early next year on the extradition application.
Earlier, opposing extradition, Michael L O'Higgins SC, for Wharrie, argued that his client's rights would be breached because the British sentencing system was both punitive and preventative, as opposed to the Irish system which was punitive.
Mr O'Higgins said the extradition process "reeked" of an attempt to "close the file" and "give neatness" to the case. There was no reality that the order could be enforced until 2025 at the earliest.
Because Wharrie would be in jail until his early 70s, an order for his extradition which would be postponed many years would breach his rights, he added.
Micheál P O'Higgins SC, for the State, argued that there was no impediment to a court order for Wharrie's extradition. The State would be seeking the postponement of any such order until he had completed his prison sentence in Ireland, he added.
In July Wharrie and two other men received lengthy jail sentences for their involvement in an operation to smuggle cocaine worth €400 million found floating in Dunlough Bay, Mizen Head, on July 2nd, last year.