AN arms dealer claims efforts by the United States to extradite him are an attempt to strip him of his company.

Guy Savage, 34, of Daymer Gardens, is facing allegations he tried to export weapons and silencers from America without the right licences and deliberately mislabeled goods he was exporting between 2003 and 2009.

Both the UK and US arms of his company Sabre Defence Industries Ltd have recently gone into liquidation.

Seth Levine, representing Mr Savage, said: “They are a major supplier of M16 machine guns to the US army.

“There have been difficulties in recent times of a business nature and it seems that those executive agencies that are essentially behind this process and in the US would like to see Mr Savage's business transferred to the hands of others.

“That, we say, is the true mischief behind this extradition request.”

Mr Levine claims Mr Savage was invited to attend “proffer interviews” in America, where he would have had the opportunity to supply information in return for immunity from prosecution but both were cancelled.

The arms dealer was seized in a raid by armed police who shot out the tyres of his Mercedes using “Hatton rounds”, which disintegrate on impact, on February 8.

He has denied, through Mr Levine, being involved in “clandestine smuggling”.

The extradition hearing at City of Westminster Magistrates Court today was adjourned until May 6, while the case is prepared by both sides.