A former U.S. military pilot who worked in China was arrested in Australia and faces extradition back to the United States. Daniel Edmund Duggan, 54, was arrested by the Australian Federal Police in the rural town of Orange in New South Wales.
The details of the arrest warrant and the charges Duggan faces are sealed. According to sources, the FBI sought Duggan because of his work in China.
Duggan first moved to Australia after serving in the Marine between 1989 and 2002, and then eventually moved to Beijing in 2014. Duggan appeared in court the day he was arrested, where he was denied bail and taken to the nearby jail.
Duggan is a former U.S. citizen. The Australian federal police were acting upon the U.S. request for his arrest. It is expected that the arrest came ahead of likely extradition proceedings.
The arrest in Australia came the same week that the United Kingdom warned dozens of former military pilots to stop working in China or face prosecution on national security grounds under new laws.
Australia is also investigating reports that some of its former fighter pilots have been approached to work in China.
Duggan moved to Australia after spending a decade working in the U.S. military. He launched a business called Top Gun Tasmania and hired former U.S. and British military pilots to offer tourists rides in fighter jets. He moved to Beijing in 2014 and then sold Top Gun Tasmania.
According to his LinkedIn, Duggan worked in Qingdao, China since 2017 as the managing director of AVIBIZ Limited, “a comprehensive aviation consultancy company with a focus on the fast-growing and dynamic Chinese Aviation Industry.”
Duggan will appear in court next in November in Sydney in order to consider any bail application.
Under the extradition treaty between Australia and U.S., the American government will have 60 days to make an extradition request.
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