Sean Doak loses final bid against extradition

Accused B.C. drug smuggler Sean Doak has lost his final bid to halt his extradition to Washington State.

Doak had asked the Supreme Court of Canada for leave to appeal a B.C. ruling ordering that he be sent to the U.S. to face a series of charges.

But Canada’s highest court dismissed his application Thursday, clearing the way for his extradition.

As is its normal practice, the Supreme Court did not provide reasons for rejecting Doak’s appeal.

In April, the B.C. Court of Appeal also rejected Doak’s request for a judicial review by the federal justice minister to surrender him to American authorities.

Doak, along with B.C. men Colin Hugh Martin, James Gregory Cameron and Adam Christian Serrano, was charged in December 2009 for his alleged role in a major smuggling operation headed by Martin.

U.S. court documents say the group smuggled hundreds of kilograms of marijuana and cocaine using at least two helicopters to transport their illicit product. The pilot of one of those helicopters, Sam Brown, hanged himself in a Spokane jail after being arrested in February 2009 in the midst of a cross-border run.

The documents allege Martin sent helicopters he leased for his company, Gorge Timber, full of pot and ecstasy (MDMA) to remote landing sites in Washington and Idaho. The gang is alleged to have brought back to B.C. as much as 300 kilograms of cocaine a week.

Both Martin and Doak have previous convictions for drug trafficking in B.C.

Martin and Cameron also continue to fight their extradition.

Serrano pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court in June 2013 to one count of conspiracy with intent to distribute controlled substances and was sentenced to three years in prison.