A FORMER US marine who has a home in Shropshire has appeared in court accused of attempting to illegally export 16 firearms to the UK, it has emerged.

Steven Neal Greenoe, of Frankwell, Shrewsbury, was arrested by federal agents in America at Raleigh-Durham International Airport, a court heard.

He was trying to fly back to Manchester, according to a testimony from Tony Bell, a US Immigration and Customs Enforcement agent.

The details are provided within a complaint produced for a court case held in Raleigh, North Carolina, USA, last Thursday.

A spokeswoman from the federal court today said Greenoe was facing two charges and had been remanded in custody ahead of a future court appearance. She said no pleas had yet been entered.

She said: “The charges are unlawful shipping of a firearm on a commercial airline without notifying the carrier of the weapons and knowingly or wilfully attempting to illegally export 16 firearms from the US to the UK without previously obtaining an export licence.

“He has been committed to the custody of the US Marshal. There will be another court case but a date has not been set.”

The 36-year-old’s home in Shrewsbury, which, according to Land Registry records, he purchased with his wife in December 2008, was raided by the North West Regional Task Force on July 26.

Residents saw officers and sniffer dogs scouring the property the following day and the stair carpet could be seen ripped up.

The task force, which is made up of six forces – Lancashire, GMP, Merseyside, Cheshire, Cumbria and North Wales Police – was set up in April 2009 to tackle serious, organised and “Level II criminality”.

Jenna Barnes, spokeswoman for the North West Regional Task Force, said: “We are liaising with the US authorities as part of an ongoing investigation into the importation and distribution of firearms in the United Kingdom. This is a complex investigation that is still under way and as such we won’t be offering any further detail at present.”

West Mercia Police have refused to comment, stating that the force is not dealing with the investigation.

By Russell Roberts