No extradition to Florida for Doon

Doon, who was out on bail, left the Port-of-Spain Eighth Magistrates Court smiling after Chief Magistrate Sherman Mc Nicolls discharged him.

Doon was among five persons held in 2004 on a provisional warrant for extradition to Fort Lauderdale to face Grand Jury charges.

Two others, Hafeez Mohammed and Ronald Rackal were extradited to Florida on May 5. Indrawatee Dwarika has lost her battle for extradition and is expected to be escorted to the US shortly.

Jitman Sookdeo skipped town and is believed to be hiding out in South America.

When the case against Doon was called yesterday, attorney Sunita Harrikissoon, representing the US Government, pointed to an error in the extradition documents, which according to her, would be prejudicial to the case and to Doon himself.

As a result, Harrikissoon sought leave to withdraw the extradition request. Rajiv Persad, who represented Doon, commended Harrikissoon for the stand taken in the interest of justice. An issue arose recently when it was discovered that the evidence given by Sgt Baldeo Nanan at the preliminary inquiry before Magistrate Nanette Forde-John in the Chaguanas Magistrates Court was different to what was presented by the US in the extradition documents.

Persad felt the contradiction was too grave for the extradition to proceed.

The requesting party admitted there was an error to the documents, saying there was no inconsistency in the evidence of Sgt Nanan.

That error, according to reports, is to be corrected.

Mohammed, who was extradited last month, pleaded guilty in a Florida Court last week to charges of conspiracy to import millions of dollars worth of cocaine into that country.

Rackal was expected to appear in court yesterday to take a similar course.

Mohammed appeared before Judge James Cohn in the United States District Court in Fort Lauderdale where he pleaded guilty, according to the terms of a plea agreement.

Mohammed faces ten years to life. Both Mohammed and Rackal are charged with conspiring to traffic cocaine, and the importing and exporting of cocaine between November 30, 2000 and January 22, 2001.

THE CHARGE AGAINST RAMESH DOON:

On or about January 22, 2001, in Miami-Dade County, in the Southern District of Florida and elsewhere, the defendants, RONALD RACKAL, HAFEEZ MOHAMMED JITRAM SOOKDEO, RAMESH DOON, and INDRAWATEE DWARIKA, did knowingly and intentionally attempt to import into the United States from a place outside thereof, a controlled substance.