A Russian man arrested in the Northern Marianas at the end of last year has appeared in court in Miami after the defence failed to secure his release on bail.
Photo: 123rf
Dmitrii Makarenko was charged in Florida in 2017 with conspiring and attempting to export defence articles without a license and money laundering.
According to the Russian Legal Information Agency, the defence unsuccessfully challenged the extended detention of Mr Makarenko before he was brought to court.
It took US authorities a month to transfer him from Saipan to Florida.
The Agency said he was first flown to a prison in Hawai'i and then taken to Nevada and Oklahoma before getting him to Miami.
His lawyers said the night vision gear acquired with a Florida-based co-defendant Vladimir Nevidomy was intended for personal use.
Despite an arrest warrant, Mr Makarenko reportedly travelled with his family from Vladivostok to Saipan for the New Year's holiday for the last three years.
The Russian news site The Bell said his main business interests were in real estate, and next month he was due to open Vladivostok's shopping mall.
