An Aucklander alleged to have played a central role in the conspiracy to buy 400kg of cocaine from Peru and then have it sent to the United States and then onwards to Romania and New Zealand, has lost an appeal attempting to stop his extradition to the United States to face charges, but his lawyer will head to the Court of Appeal.

Fraudster Miles John McKelvy, was arrested in 2020 after police raids across Romania resulting in a number of arrests, including two New Zealand Hells Angels members who were extradited to the United States to face charges by the Drug Enforcement Administration.

The DEA are seeking to extradite McKelvy to face charges on conspiring to import and export cocaine, and manufacture and distribute the Class A drug into the United States. Earlier this year, Judge Peter Winter found McKelvy eligible to surrender to the United States.

McKelvy then appealed that decision to the High Court, with Justice Christine Gordon releasing her decision on Friday confirming he is eligible for surrender. However, McKelvy’s lawyer Ron Mansfield KC told Stuff he intends to appeal the decision.

It is alleged the conspiracy involved buying 400kg of cocaine from Peru.

In May 2020, a US undercover special agent posed as a large-scale drug trafficker and received a message via an encrypted messaging application from double murderer Wen Hui Cui who was interested in buying a large amount of cocaine to ship to New Zealand.

Cui said his partner, nicknamed “Angelo”, would contact the undercover agent.

In July 2020, after further conversations, a member of the scheme wired $50,000 to be wired to a United States bank account – which was partial payment for the cocaine they wished to buy.

Unbeknowst the Cui and his co-defendant Hells Angel member Murray Matthews, the bank account was controlled by the DEA.

The undercover agent then requested Matthews to travel to Romania to meet in person before they deal was completed.

The agent travelled to Bucharest, Romania and met with Matthews and another man – Marc Patrick Johnson, whom was described as the financier and is also a Hells Angels member.

During this meeting, they detailed how the cocaine would be shipped from Peru to Texas and then onto Romania. The final destination was New Zealand.

In the August, a total of $1,012,173 was transferred into the US bank account.

The following month, Matthews told the undercover agent McKelvy, with the alias “doc”, would be accepting the cocaine in New Zealand.

McKelvy used the username “docnz1” on an encrypted messaging app and told the undercover agent “there is a container coming and I’m to arrange a freight forawrd t receive it and a[n] A[d]dress for it to be dropped to…Then once it passes clearance I arrange with marc and Angelo to pickup. And when finished I get paid”.

“I’ve been told by Marc it’s the best…That’s what everyone wants here screaming for it”.

McKelvy is alleged to have gone on to say: “I have been told this your product can go threw [sic] a scan and pass I have been told the dog can’t smell it”.

McKelvy is alleged to have requested certain information from the undercover agent and went on to tell him he’d “brought in lots from China for many years”.

Matthews and Johnson were arrested in Romania on November 18, 2020.

Meanwhile, the United States had applied for a provisional warrant to arrest McKelvy. A District Court Judge granted the warrant and the New Zealand police arrested him on November 19.

In her decision, Justice Gordon said she was satisfied the alleged conduct, had it occurred within the New Zealand jurisdiction would constitute the offence of conspiring to import cocaine.

Mansifeld accepted the evidence establishes a conspiracy and his client had joined that conspiracy, however, Mansfield said Judge Winter erred in failing to properly consider whether the element of a conspiracy to import the cocaine into the United States were established.

Mansfield also said there is no evidence McKelvy knew of a plan for the cocaine to transit through the United States, let alone enter onto US soil.

However, Justice Gordon disagreed with Mansfield.

“Even if the cocaine was only to be in transit, that was an import into the United States.”