$1.5m bail for businessman in cocaine case
Published:Thursday | May 12, 2022 | 12:08 AMChristopher Thomas/Gleaner Writer
WESTERN BUREAU:
ORAL JOHNSON, the businessman who was arrested two weeks ago after reportedly being held with more than 19 pounds of cocaine during a police operation in Coral Gardens, St James, was offered bail in the sum of $1.5 million in the St James Parish Court on Wednesday.
Johnson, a 45-year-old restaurant and bar operator of a Westmoreland address, is charged with possession, dealing, taking steps to export, and trafficking of 19 pounds and 10.98 ounces of cocaine.
Johnson, like other persons in custody facing charges, was not transported to court yesterday as a result of the islandwide strike by staff at the National Water Commission, which has resulted in water lock-offs in many areas.
Heart condition
“Mr Johnson has a heart condition and, while he has received medication for it, it is difficult for him to treat it adequately where he is,” his attorney, Martin Thomas, told Parish Judge Sasha Ashley during the bail hearing.
“He has no previous convictions, and, when the police asked for his licence, he provided it to them. Our client denies knowledge that the items (cocaine) were in the vehicle.”
The prosecution did not oppose bail, but asked that Johnson’s passport be surrendered to the police and that a stop order is placed on him at the ports.
It was also disclosed that the forensic certificate and fingerprint analysis were outstanding from the case file.
Judge Ashley offered him bail with one or two sureties, and ordered him to surrender his travel documents. The stop order was also instituted.
Additionally, attorney-at-law Henry McCurdy made a successful application for the release of the motor vehicle in which Johnson had reportedly been travelling when he was held, as it had been rented from a company in Westmoreland. The vehicle was released to its owner under a $200,000 bond.
The case will be mentioned again on July 7, at which time it is expected that Johnson will make his first in-person appearance in court.
On April 28, Johnson was allegedly observed sitting in a parked vehicle for approximately 20 minutes. When approached by the police, he reportedly gave conflicting explanations for being in the area. The vehicle was subsequently searched and nine packages with the cocaine reportedly found.
In related operations that day, the police reportedly seized US$3.8 million and CDN$30,000 at a house in Coral Gardens. The police subsequently named Presley ‘Pressa’ Bingham as a person of interest in those investigations.