An Irishman accused of environmental crimes in the state of California has been arrested in Malta and remanded in custody after a Maltese court denied his request for bail this week.

As reported by The Malta Independent on Sunday last December, the United States Environmental Protection Agency, the Southern District Court of California and Interpol have been seeking O’Connor to answer for environmental crimes in the US, who fled to Malta.

Back in December, the EPA published a ‘most wanted’ list of 23 environmental crime suspects who have fled the United States. The agency has been working with Interpol and other international authorities to bring them to justice.

Among the 23 most wanted is one individual believed to have fled to and is living in Malta, 57-year-old Irishman Joseph Anthony O’Connor. O’Connor had been placed on Interpol’s wanted list after international arrest warrants were issued by the US Southern District Court of California.

O’Connor was charged in six count indictments connected to discharging pollutants into the San Diego harbour. The alleged violations include breaching the US Clean Waters Act, the unlawful discharge of pollutants, conspiracy, and making false statements.

Worryingly, O’Connor has been running a maritime business in Malta in the meantime and, since old habits die hard, it is plausible that similar violations could have been committed in Maltese waters. He is also said to have been wary of leaving Malta since the charges were brought, since extradition to the US, considering the nature of the charges in question, from other countries would be easier.

An Interpol wanted notice lists the charges as counterfeiting, forgery and environmental crime. Neither the EPA nor Interpol listed specific details of the crimes O’Connor is wanted for.

It is also unclear, although very probable, whether O’Connor is the same individual who was accused by Spain and held briefly in San Diego, but not convicted, in 2006 on Spanish charges of providing a boat used in a foiled attempt to smuggle 8.8 tons of hashish worth $40 million.

The case is not connected to the environmental crime charges.

O’Connor, according to Spanish documents filed in the US courts, had run a ship-selling business in Spain, and that he was known for selling old fishing boats to smuggling groups.

In addition to the Spanish case, in which the Spanish authorities had failed to secure an extradition order for O’Connor from the US courts, O’Connor had been involved in the sale of another vessel that had later been involved in cocaine trafficking and which had been apprehended by Portuguese authorities in 2004 with illegal immigrants aboard, according to documents filed by the Spanish authorities.

His defence counsel successfully argued that O’Connor was in the business of buying and selling boats for a living and that he had no knowledge or control over whether the vessels were later used for illicit purposes.

Following this week’s court decision, O’Connor will remain in custody until the conclusion of extradition proceedings.