New pictures have emerged of a British man dubbed ‘El Chapo of the Cotswolds’ enjoying a holiday with his partner – as he faces 120 years in an American prison over claims he ran a £5million drugs racket.
Matthew Grimm, who is fighting extradition to the US over five counts of trafficking and one of money laundering, is seen posing in a smart shirt and chinos against the backdrop of azure-blue waters ringed by green hills.
A second photo shows the 49-year-old grinning in a sun-drenched selfie snapped above a beach bar, with palm trees and a harbour wall visible in the background. It is unclear where the photos were taken.
When he’s not jetting off overseas, Grimm is a keen member of the cycling club in Chipping Sodbury, a historic market down in South Gloucestershire.
But he now stands accused of overseeing a major drug operation which shipped psychoactive bath salts, and was arrested by National Crime Agency (NCA) officers last November after the US issued a warrant for his arrest.
Matthew Grimm, who is fighting extradition to the US over five counts of trafficking and one of money laundering, is seen posing with his partner in a holiday snap
A second photo shows the 49-year-old grinning in a sun-drenched selfie snapped above a beach bar, with palm trees and a harbour wall visible in the background
The drugs are said to have been ferried from the Netherlands to US-based customers via an online portal called Smokey’s Chem Site, which was allegedly run from as early as 2012, before an undercover operation shut it down.
Prosecutors in the US – where former Mexican drug lord Joaquin ‘El Chapo’ Guzman is serving life in jail – last year froze Grimm’s bank account, which they said received £5.2m in Bitcoin payments from customers.
The suspect, who told a court he relies on cycling to ‘clear his head’ as he fights the case, became the first person targeted by President Biden’s Executive Order 14059.
This aims to combat fentanyl and other synthetic drugs which have been blamed for hundreds of death in the States.
Police in the UK and the Netherlands helped the US Treasury to track Grimm and two Dutch nationals in a separate case, allegedly over the sale of illicit drugs purchased online and via dark net marketplaces.
Grimm (right) was was arrested by National Crime Agency (NCA) officers last November
When he’s not jetting off overseas, the 49-year-old is a keen member of the cycling club in Chipping Sodbury, a historic market down in South Gloucestershire
As he arrived to answer bail this week, Grimm told the Sunday Mirror: ‘Let them bring it on. I’m 49 now, so how could I serve that long?
‘These are just allegations, so I don’t want to say anything.’
Grimm’s lawyer said in court papers that his client denies wrongdoing and fears extradition would distance him from his two children, nine and 12, who live with his ex.
A district judge rejected the pleas, however, and sent the case to Home Secretary Suella Braverman to approve. A final decision will be made in December.
A National Crime Agency spokesperson told : ‘We do not comment on ongoing investigations or individuals who may or may not be subject to investigation.’
Chipping Sodbury, the market town in Gloucestershire where Grimm regularly cycles