Four airport employees get second new date for cocaine trial
Published:Friday | October 21, 2022 | 12:08 AMChristopher Thomas/Gleaner Writer
WESTERN BUREAU:
Four employees at Sangster International Airport, who allegedly attempted to smuggle 11.4 kilogrammes of cocaine on to a flight destined for Canada last October, had their long-awaited trial put off for a second time to November 16, when they appeared in court on Wednesday.
Indra Waite, Brelanie Reid, Tavon Murray and Romaine Kerr were expected to stand trial before the St James Parish Court in relation to breaches of the Dangerous Drugs Act, after their hearing was previously rescheduled from the initial start date of October 11.
However, when the case was called up before presiding parish judge Sasha Ashley on Wednesday, the court was told that Kerr’s attorney, Charles Sinclair, who was absent due to his participating in Parliamentary procedures, had requested a new court date as he needed to take additional instructions from his client.
The court was also told that a witness statement which had been brought forward for addition to the prosecution’s case file had only recently been submitted to the court’s registry.
The revelation did not go over well with Murray’s lawyer, Michael Hemmings, who argued that the lengthy delay to the trial’s start went against the four defendants’ right to a timely resolution of their case.
“It is not in me to sit and let this slide, as this is a case of injustice. My friend [the clerk of the court] does not have sufficient evidence to bring a case against these persons, and if you do not have a case, why are you holding on to it?” Hemmings complained. “We do not practise this down here, as we have been waiting seven months, and I am at the point where I am about to tell my client to find another attorney.”
Attorney Henry McCurdy, who is representing Waite, was likewise vocal in his disappointment that the case would have to be delayed for a second time.
“I am disappointed, as I told my client they would see the back of this case today. But, we will just have to do what we have to do,” McCurdy said in a resigned tone.Meanwhile, Judge Ashley acknowledged that the prosecution had previously failed to get its case file ready in a timely manner to start and conclude the trial quickly.
“What I do not want is for anyone to say that anything was done behind their backs, and I am not into the nonsense. This case has been fraught with broken promises to have everything ready,” said Ashley.
The defendants
Waite, Reid, Murray and Kerr subsequently had their bails extended to November 16, at which time it is expected that the trial will start without any further hindrances. Allegations are that on October 10, 2021, the four defendants were servicing a Sun Wing flight that was scheduled to depart from the Sangster International Airport in Montego Bay to the Toronto Pearson Airport in Canada. They reportedly conspired and placed a bag with 11.4 kilograms of cocaine, valued at US$570,000 (J$88.1 million), on board the aircraft.
The cocaine was intercepted at the airport in Canada and one person was arrested in relation to the seizure. Following top-level investigations, which involved the input of Jamaica’s Narcotics Division, the four accused persons, who are all of St James addresses, were arrested and charged.
Waite, a 43-year-old security supervisor, is charged with conspiracy to export cocaine, possession of criminal property, and aiding and abetting. Reid, a 23-year-old aviation security officer, is charged with breaching the Civil Aviation Act and conspiracy to export cocaine.
Murray, a 28-year-old ramp attendant, is charged with conspiracy to export cocaine, while Kerr, a 35-year-old ramp attendant, is charged with possession of, dealing in, and exporting cocaine.