SHARE
COPY LINK

CRIME

Spain court backs Briton’s extradition over Biden hack

A Spanish court approved Friday the extradition to the United States of a British man suspected of hacking the Twitter accounts of leading public figures including presidents Joe Biden and Barack Obama.

Spain court backs Briton's extradition over Biden hack
The accounts of US President Joe Bide, former President Barack Obama, Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates and Tesla boss Elon Musk, who now owns Twitter, were all hit. (Photo by SAUL LOEB / AFP)

Police arrested Joseph James O’Connor in July 2021 in the southern city of Estepona which is home to a large number of Britons. He faces multiple charges in connection with the July 2020 hack of over 130 Twitter accounts, including those of then-Democratic presidential candidate Biden.

The accounts of former President Barack Obama, Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates and Tesla boss Elon Musk, who now owns Twitter, were also hit.

US officials allege O’Connor hijacked the celebrity accounts and then asked followers of them to send bitcoin to an account, promising to double their money.

Spain’s National Court said on Friday that he is also suspected of hacking the Snapchat account of a unnamed public figure and then threatening to publish naked pictures of him unless he was financially compensated.

It said the “necessary conditions” were met for Spain to agree to a US extradition request for the 23-year-old, who is also known by the alias “Plugwalk Joe”.

Spain’s cabinet still must approve it although usually complies with the court’s decisions.

O’Connor can also still appeal the extradition. He faces charges related to unauthorised computer access, extortion and cyberstalking.

His defence team had argued that he should be tried in Spain, the location of the computer servers which were allegedly used in the hacking.

A Florida teenager accused of masterminding the attack was sentenced by a US court in 2021 to three years in juvenile prison in a plea agreement.

Graham Ivan Clark was just 17 when he was charged and his case was transferred to a Florida state court because of his juvenile status.

Member comments

Log in here to leave a comment.
Become a Member to leave a comment.

CRIME

Spain seizes 1.8 tonnes of Sinaloa Cartel’s crystal meth

Spanish police said Thursday they had seized 1,800 kilos of crystal meth that Mexico's Sinaloa Cartel was trying to sell in Europe, the country's "biggest-ever seizure" of the narcotic.

Spain seizes 1.8 tonnes of Sinaloa Cartel's crystal meth

Police arrested five people during the raid in the eastern Alicante province, one of them a Mexican running the cartel’s Spanish operation, a statement said.

“This is the biggest-ever seizure of crystal meth in Spain and the second largest in Europe,” Antonio Martinez Duarte, head of the police’s drug trafficking and organised crime unit, told reporters.

“Among those arrested is a Mexican citizen linked to the Sinaloa Cartel,” he added.

READ ALSO: What are the penalties for drug possession in Spain?

He did not give his name but indicated the suspect was responsible for receiving the narcotics in Spain then distributing them within Europe.

The Sinaloa Cartel is one of Mexico’s oldest, largest and most violent criminal groups whose influence remains strong despite the arrest of its founder Joaquin ‘El Chapo’ Guzman and his son.

Both have been extradited to and jailed in the United States.

During the operation, police also detained three Spaniards and a Romanian, seizing five cars, documents, a weapon and cash.

But police believe it was a one-off trafficking operation and that “Mexican organisations are not permanently based” in Spain, Martinez Duarte said.

“These organisations send a trusted person who carries out the operation in line with their interests” and once that is over, he goes back home, he explained.

The seized narcotics had been due to be shipped to central Europe.

Although Spain is one of the main drug gateways to Europe, seizures of synthetic narcotics are uncommon as most traffickers usually deal in cannabis and cocaine.

READ ALSO: Why is Spain’s Europe’s cocaine gateway?

SHOW COMMENTS