Extradited drug smuggler Austin Knowles is on his way back to the Bahamas today after being freed from a United States prison.
His hours-long flight is expected to touch down at Lynden Pindling International Airport (LPIA) this afternoon.
The Bahamian was expected to spend six years in prison and forfeited $1 million after he and several others were busted in connection to a 2002 drug trafficking ring.
After vigorously fighting extradition in the Bahamian courts for years, Knowles was extradited to the US in May 2018, and pleaded guilty to four charges, including conspiracy to import five or more kilograms of cocaine, attempting to import five or more kilograms of cocaine, importation of five or more kilograms of cocaine and conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute five or more kilograms of cocaine.
His return to the Bahamas is in keeping with a U.S. Court’s order that Knowles be deported after his sentence is completed, and will not need to report for his supervised release as long as he resides outside of the United States.
