Ex-Marine Accused Of Training Chinese Pilots Loses Bid To Block Extradition To US

An Australian judge denied the appeal Thursday of a former U.S. Marine Corps pilot to block extradition over allegations that he illegally taught Chinese military pilots between 2010 and 2012.

Daniel Duggan, born in Boston, Massachusetts, faces allegations of training Chinese as an instructor for the Test Flying Academy of South Africa, according to The Associated Press (AP) He has rejected the allegations and claimed he is being singled out by the U.S. as a form of political maneuvering. Prosecutors claimed Duggan obtained the equivalent of approximately $61,000 from another conspirator in roughly nine payments and traveled between the U.S., South Africa and China under what was occasionally labeled “personal development training.”

Australian Federal Court Justice James Stellio ruled against Duggan’s appeal, arguing that no jurisdiction error was made in 2024 during the ordering of Duggan’s extradition, the AP reported. An appeal of the case can be submitted within a 28-day period, according to SBS News. (RELATED: Feds Charge Former ‘Elite Fighter Pilot’ With Helping Communist China)

Duggan’s lawyers argued against the extradition by claiming it’s required for the alleged offense be a crime in both the requesting and extraditing countries, according to SBS News. They contended that the alleged conduct was not a crime in Australia at the time and, therefore, does not meet the standard for extradition.

Daniel Duggan, a former US Marine Corps pilot, lost an appeal against his extradition from Australia to the United States on charges of violating U.S. arms control laws while training Chinese pilots https://t.co/scdr0T7ZPl

— Reuters (@Reuters) April 16, 2026

A 2016 indictment in the U.S. District Court in Washington was later unsealed in 2022, the AP reported. Then-Australian Attorney-General Mark Dreyfus ordered his extradition in 2024.

Duggan has already spent three-and-a-half years in a maximum-security prison over the allegations after being apprehended in 2022, SBS News reported. His family, consisting of a wife and six children, has been fighting the legal battle for years.

His wife, Saffrine, gathered with supporters to hear the judge’s decision. She and the family said their legal bill is estimated to be about half a million Australian dollars, according to SBS News.

“We are very disappointed by this ruling and we will consider our options carefully. But make no mistake, we will not give up,” Saffrine said, according to the AP. “Today does not end our search for justice.”

Saffrine told the press outside the court that her husband’s attorneys were weighing appealing the case further.

An internet campaign allegedly raising funds and awareness for Duggan’s case claimed that the family is now a million Australian dollars in debt.

A letter from Duggan, sent from prison, reportedly said he believed his activities were not illegal and that both Australian and U.S. intelligence services were aware of his work, SBS News reported.