Five men now charged in connection with historic multibillion dollar cocaine bust

Head of the Jamaica Constabulary Force's (JCF) Crime and Security Portfolio, Deputy Commissioner of Police, Fitz Bailey, today announced that charges have been laid against five men who were arrested in connection with the recent historic seizure of approximately J$12 billion worth of cocaine in Havendale, St Andrew.

Arrested and charged with possession of cocaine, dealing in cocaine, trafficking in cocaine and conspiracy are 57-year-old Clive Roy Davis; 58-year-old Collin Ricketts; 51-year-old George Sterling; 42-year-old Clayton Peart; and 72-year-old Junior Haldane. All five are from Kingston addresses.

“This seizure represents the largest on record in Jamaica's history,” Bailey said.

According to police reports, on Tuesday, August 6, members of the firearms and narcotics investigation division within Countering Transnational Organized Crime (CTOC), executed a raid at 2 Riverside Drive in Havendale, Kingston 19, which resulted in the seizure of a large quantity of cocaine and the arrest of the five Jamaicans.

During the operation, the police said, a Toyota Hiace vehicle and a two-storey concrete dwelling were searched, where the lawmen discovered several knitted bags containing packages with a white powdery substance suspected to be cocaine.

The substance weighed 2,526 kilogrammes or just over 5,569 pounds, with an estimated street value of just over US$75 million or J$12 billion.

The accused, who were interviewed in the presence of their lawyers, remain in police custody, after they were charged on Friday, August 16.

The date for their appearance before the court is not yet set.

The JCF, along with its local, regional and international partner agencies, are continuing investigation into the matter and are actively pursuing other leads to dismantle other criminal networks.

Persons are being encouraged to share what they know by calling Crime Stop at 311 or the firearms and narcotics investigation division at 876-923-4576.

The police said since the start of the year, investigations have resulted in the seizure of 86 illegal firearms and 1,154 assorted rounds of ammunition, the seizure of more than US$130,000 worth of illegal drugs and the arrest of 168 individuals, including 21 foreign nationals.

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