Surrey police defend extraditing HStikkytokky on £16,000 private jet
Surrey Police have defended their decision to charter a private jet costing around £16,000 to extradite a TikTok influencer, arguing it was the “only viable option” for his return.
Harrison Sullivan, 24, known as HSTikkyTokky, was deported back to the UK last summer after evading police custody for almost 12 months following a car crash in Virginia Water, Surrey, in March 2024.
The force, who was detained for unrelated reasons in Spain last August, confirmed he spent £15,990 on the chartered flight to bring him back from Malaga airport. But a judge at Staines Magistrates’ Court on Thursday rejected the prosecution application for £18,049.47 to cover the cost of the flight and additional restitution, ruling that the use of a private jet was not “necessary or proportionate”.
Surrey Police justified their decision as follows: “Sullivan flew from Malaga airport, Spain, to an airport in London on a private plane, accompanied by officers from the National Crime Agency’s (NCA) National Extradition Unit.
“The decision to use a private contract was based on a risk assessment carried out by the NCA’s National Extradition Unit after all other options had been considered and was unfortunately not appropriate to reduce the perceived risks.”
But details of the risk assessment were not revealed in court on Thursday, prompting District Judge Julie Cooper to say: “In my view that is not fair or reasonable for him.” [Sullivan] “I will have to pay for a chartered flight, although no satisfactory explanation has been given as to why this should happen.”
Police added in a statement that extradition of Sullivan to the UK was “essential for the safety of Surrey roads”.
“Surrey Police is committed to reducing the number of fatal and serious injury collisions on our roads and we will hold people to account who put the lives of others at risk,” the force said.
“The way Sullivan was driving was incredibly dangerous.
“He was traveling 70 mph in a 40 mph zone, and crashes at that speed often caused serious injuries and deaths.
“Sullivan then actively evaded the police and it was imperative for the safety of Surrey roads that we returned Sullivan to the UK to stand trial for the offenses for which he was originally charged.
“Surrey Police has therefore provided funding of £15,990 to cover flight costs.”
Sullivan was given a one-year suspended prison sentence at Staines Magistrates’ Court last November after pleading guilty to dangerous driving and driving without insurance.
The social media star will also be banned from driving for two years, have an electronic tag for three months and is expected to complete 300 hours of unpaid work and 30 days of rehabilitation.
The total cost to Surrey Police and the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) of bringing Sullivan back to the UK after the crash was £28,350.27, Thursday’s hearing was told.
But Judge Cooper reduced the total bill to £17,320.27 and ordered Sullivan to pay £8,050.27 to Surrey Police and £9,270 to the CPS respectively in costs.
He specifically deducted £10,000 from his police costs application because he was not convinced that hiring a private jet to repatriate Sullivan was justified.
When prosecutor Kane Alexander told the judge there were concerns that fitness influencer Sullivan might be recognized by the public on a commercial aircraft, Judge Cooper said: “Mr Sullivan apparently travels on airplanes with impunity without much risk to himself, so I really don’t understand.”
He added: “I can understand there might be some issues with social media.
“But the problem might have been solved or reduced if a first-class flight had been provided to place the defendant in that area, so he was not in the public eye while handcuffed.”
Defense lawyer Shalin Sood also said Sullivan was “surprised by the private jet” and was “completely calm and compliant” while in police custody.
“We understand that Mr Sullivan escaped from custody, we understand that more expenses than usual would have to be incurred, but there was no need to hire a private jet,” he said.
Addressing the costs incurred throughout the investigation, which the court found required partnerships with foreign organisations, including Interpol, Ms Sood added: “Trying to find out Mr Sullivan’s whereabouts is not rocket science, judge; he is livestreaming every day.”
Ms Sood also told the judge Sullivan’s income might have been around £2,000 a week but this was “inconsistent”.
“It is not possible for him to make this payment all at once, or even within a year,” he said.
But Judge Cooper appears to reject this argument and asks: “What about their property in the United Arab Emirates?”
He later added: “I’ll give him six months to pay it off and if there’s something wrong with it he’ll have to come back and explain why.”
The fitness influencer will reportedly appear in a Louis Theroux documentary for Netflix that explores the impact of online misogyny on young men.
In a viral clip, Theroux is seen repeating a line Sullivan had previously said: “Call me a racist, call me a misogynist, call me a homophobe, call me a fraud; I’m all of those things.”
Sullivan responded: “That’s my way of saying I don’t care. Say what you want about me, that’s who I am, great. I don’t care. So what?”
