Manchester woman accused of sending cocaine through FedEx freed

A Manchester student accused of shipping a little over eight ounces of cocaine in veggie chunks and chiplets from Manchester to Kingston through FedEx two years ago was yesterday freed of drug charges in the Kingston and St Andrew Parish Court.

Catherine Jones, 22, was freed of charges of possession of cocaine, dealing in cocaine, attempting to export cocaine and conspiracy to export cocaine, after the prosecution conceded that it was not able to provide sufficient evidence.

It is alleged that Jones went to a FedEX branch in Mandeville on February 2, 2021, and shipped the package with the vegetarian products off to Kingston.

When the package arrived at its destination, it was searched, tested and found to be contaminated with cocaine. The drug weighed 8.41 ounces.

Following an investigation, Jones was arrested on October 10, 2021 and subsequently charged.

However, yesterday ahead of the start of Jones' trial, attorney Chadwick Berry argued that the Crown could not prosecute the matter given the deficiencies in their case.

Berry pointed to the absence of several persons who interacted with the package between the time it was logged at Mandeville and when it arrived in Kingston.

The prosecution agreed with the submissions made and the judges, as a result, set aside the charges against Jones.

- Tanesha Mundle

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