US wants five Trinis for cocaine

FIVE PERSONS including a woman, who are due to go on trial tomorrow in a Trinidad High Court for trafficking $204 million in cocaine, were arrested early yesterday on provisional warrants for their extradition to the United States to face a total of 11 narcotic charges in that country. Members of the Organised Crime and Narcotics Unit (OCNU), under the supervision of Senior Supt Raymond Craig, swooped down on homes in San Juan, Freeport and D’Abadie yesterday and detained the five persons. The arrested persons will appear before a Port-of-Spain Magistrate tomorrow in response to the request for their extradition, but they are also due to appear at the same time in the High Court which is posing a dilemma for their attorneys. They are wanted in the United States on charges including conspiracy to traffick a dangerous drug, conspiracy to possess a dangerous drug for the purpose of trafficking, and trafficking a dangerous drug.

The detained persons were identified as Ronald Rackal, 37, of Chenette Drive, El Socorro, San Juan; Jitram Sookdeo, 35, of Jubilee Street, Aranquez; Hafeez Mohammed, 28, of Globe Lane, San Juan; Ramesh Doon, 21, of Crosby Street, Aranquez; and Indartee Dwarika, 44, of Red Hill, D’Abadie. The five persons were among 19 arrested in a major operation by members of OCNU and the Counter Drug Crime Task Force headed by Craig on January 22, 2001 at a warehouse at Orange Field Road, Carapichiama. Police reportedly seized 542 kilos of cocaine with a street value of $204 million. The 19 persons appeared in the Couva Magistrates’ Court and when Magistrate Nanette Forde-John completed the preliminary inquiry, six persons were committed to stand trial and subsequently released on bail. The charges were laid by Sgt Baldeo Nanan.

Five of the six persons who were committed to stand trial were arrested yesterday on the provisional warrants. The whereabouts of the sixth person was unknown yesterday. The arrested persons were taken to OCNU headquarters in Port-of-Spain where the warrants were read to them for their extradition to the United States. However, they were not given copies of the warrants, Sunday Newsday learnt. They were also informed that they will be taken to the Port-of-Spain Magistrates’ Court tomorrow to answer the extradition case. But their appearance before the magistrate would clash with the start of their trial before Justice Herbert Volney in the Port-of-Spain Second Criminal Court tomorrow.

The arrested persons were visited by their attorneys Prakash Ramadhar, Ravi Rajcoomar, and Om Lalla. Both Rajcoomar and Lalla confirmed that their clients were in custody.  Lalla told Sunday Newsday, “this 11th hour act on the part of the police and the United States authorities is nothing short of an abuse of process, especially since the matter has been listed for trial on Monday.” Lalla pointed out that the preliminary inquiry was completed since July 2002. “If the United States had any intention of extraditing my clients, they had more than adequate time to put the machinery in place.” When contacted, Rajcoomar said, “we are ready for the trial on Monday. I was taken by surprise by what happened today.”