5 fugitives nabbed on court steps

DRAMA unfolded on the steps of the Hall of Justice in Port-of-Spain yesterday morning, when five fugitives were arrested by members of the Organised Crime and Narcotics Unit (OCNU) and served with a warrant for their extradition to the United States to face charges of conspiring to import more than $300 million worth of cocaine into that country. Hours later, the five appeared before Chief Magistrate Sherman Mc Nicolls in the Port-of-Spain Eighth Magistrates’ Court, but were remanded in custody after they were denied bail.

Ronald Rackal, Ramesh Doon, Hazfeez Mohammed, Jitman Sookdeo, and Indaryartee Dwarika appeared before Madame Justice Paula Mae Weekes in the Port-of-Spain Second Criminal Court for a Cause List hearing. They are charged with possession of 542 kilos of cocaine for the purpose of trafficking in Freeport on January 22, 2001. After a status hearing, their trial was fixed for March 1, 2005. They were all out on $150,000 bail. When they walked out of the Hall of Justice at 9.40 am, however, they were totally taken by surprise. Plain clothes members of the OCNU pounced on them and said the five were under arrest.

The fugitives looked very startled by the presence of the police officers on the steps of the courthouse. Two of them got so confused, they even tried to turn back to get into the Hall of Justice. One of the defence attorneys, Devan Rampersad, was present and told the police officers “you can’t arrest these persons, they are my clients. Where is the warrant, I want to see the warrant.” Headed by ASP Simon Alexis, the five fugitives were placed in two vehicles. By that time, two other defence attorneys, Ravi Rajcoomar and Ian Ibrahim, had arrived and enquired why their clients were hustled into vehicles. The suspects were taken to OCNU headquarters where the extradition warrant was read and served on the five fugitives. The five had been previously arrested on a provisional warrant, but the authority to proceed with the extradition hearing was signed by Attorney General John Jeremie a few days ago.

At 2.15 pm, the five appeared before the Chief Magistrate where the charges, laid by the US authorities, were read to them. They are charged with conspiring with other persons to import cocaine into the United States. The names of two other co-conspirators surfaced for the first time yesterday — Alma Santiago and Noble Damien Beharry. Right away, Prakash Ramadhar sought bail for the five fugitives, but David West of the Attorney General’s office resisted the application. This drew fire from Ramadhar who accused the State of bad behaviour in the way the fugitives were arrested. “They appeared in the High Court where a date was set for their trial. As they left the court, they were grabbed.  No warrant was shown, they were taken away. Counsel nearly went down with them.”

Ramadhar said the fugitives have shown they have no intention to evade or run away. Devan Rampersad said his clients were taken completely by surprise yesterday. “This was unprofessional and uncivilised, the way my clients were brought to this court. “To have people arrested on the door of the Hall of Justice without a warrant and in front of their attorneys and the media, was totally wrong.” Ibrahim said the way the police operated reminded him of Germany in the 1930s. West still resisted the application for bail, saying that 542 kilos were involved, and that amounted to $313 million. He said the provisional warrant was a thing of the past as the Attorney General had issued the authority to proceed. Mc Nicolls said that based on the quantum of the drugs, and that the fugitives were considered a flight risk, he was refusing them bail. The hearing was adjourned to December 22.