$204M coke case put off again

Chief Magistrate Sherman Mc Nicolls was once again forced to adjourn the hearing of an extradition matter involving five persons at the Port-of-Spain Magistrates’ Court yesterday. The matter, which was set for trial on the last occasion, was adjourned to a later date for mention only, as one of the five accused was reportedly ill and unable to attend the proceedings, while one of the defence attorneys applied for leave to be out of the country. Before Mc Nicolls were Ronald Rackal, Jitram Sookdeo, Ramseh Doon and Indartee Dwarika.  Hafeez Mohammed was the absent accused. Mohammed’s attorney Ian Ibrahim told Mc Nicolls his client was at home after being diagnosed as having a respiratory tract infection. Ibrahim submitted a certified sick leave and a prescription to the magistrate on his client’s behalf. Mohammed was granted ten days sick leave by a doctor.

While on his feet, Ibrahim also sought to have the matter adjourned, telling the magistrate of his scheduled absence from the jurisdiction for a five-week period. The  attorney, who was booked to leave late yesterday evening, told the magistrate he was scheduled to deal with a legal matter in London and would return on April 7. Ibrahim’s application for an adjournment was met with strong objection from attorney Dana Seetahal of the Attorney General’s office, who insisted that extradition matters were to be considered urgent. “The wheels of the justice system should not stop grinding for any one person. Extradition proceedings are urgent and should be given priority.

If it is that Mr Ibrahim cannot appear on his client’s behalf, then alternative arrangements should be made. I have no problem if he has other commitments, but alternative arrangements should be made,” Seetahal said. However, Ibrahim insisted that making alternative arrangements would have been impossible at that point, since it would have given him only four hours to make such arrangements. Attorney Prakash Ramadhar, defence attorney for one of the accused, endorsed Ibrahim’s submission, telling the magistrate that the advice given to his colleague was easier said than done. “It is easy to say make alternative arrangements, but in the real world it doesn’t always happen that way,” Ramadhar said.

Deeming Ibrahim’s application as “very unusual and very late in the proceedings,” the Chief Magistrate told the attorney, “The right to legal representation of a lawyer of one’s choice is not an absolute right, with good reason too. If the lawyer is not available then we need to get on with the business of the court. But I think an extradition matter, by its nature, ought to be treated with some level of urgency,” Mc Nicolls told the attorney. The matter was then set for mention on March 15. The court will also be updated on the condition of absent accused. The five were arrested on January 22, 2001, in a major drug operation by officers of the Organised Crime and Narcotics Unit at a warehouse on Orange Field Road, Carapichaima. Police reportedly seized 542 kilos of cocaine with an estimated street value of $204 million. The five also face extradition to the United States to face a total of 11 narcotics charges in that country.