FREDERICTON -- A New Brunswick man who was convicted for smuggling about 250 narwhal tusks into the United States has been released from custody while he tries to take an extradition fight to the nation's highest court.
Gregory Logan of Woodman's Point wants the Supreme Court of Canada to hear his appeal of a decision released earlier this month by the New Brunswick Court of Appeal which upheld his extradition to the U.S.
Logan was convicted in a New Brunswick court in 2013, fined $385,000 and given an eight-month conditional sentence to be served in the community.
He was indicted in Maine in 2012 on charges relating to unlawful importation and money laundering, and the United States sought his extradition, which was granted.
Logan's appeal argued that he faces double jeopardy and the charges in the United States could result in him being effectively convicted twice for the same events.
In his decision, Judge Bradley Green granted the release motion, saying Logan's detention "is not necessary in the public interest."
A release condition requires Logan to surrender himself to the Saint John Regional Correctional Centre by 4 p.m. the day before the Supreme Court releases its decision on his applications for leave to appeal.
