Airport ramp employees in cocaine bust had bails extended

WESTERN BUREAU:

Three employees of the Sangster International Airport in Montego Bay, who were arrested and charged in connection with the seizure of 28.5 pounds of cocaine during a targeted operation at the airport on December 11, 2024, had their bails extended to February 26 when they appeared in the St James Parish Court on Monday.

The trio, 36-year-old ramp attendant Rushen Powell, of a Norwood address in St James; 62-year-old lead ramp attendant Leroy Jones, of a Mount Salem address; and 35-yer-old ramp agent Ojay Simpson, of Salt Marsh, Trelawny, are facing charges of possession of, dealing in, attempting to export, and conspiracy to export cocaine.

During Monday’s court hearing, the clerk of the court told presiding judge Diahann Bernard that, although several documents have been placed on the prosecution’s case file, the forensic certificate and chain-of-custody statement are not ready.

“The forensic certificate is outstanding, and, when that document is ready, the chain-of-custody statement will be needed. The attorneys are asking for an early mention date, and February 26 is convenient for all counsel,” the clerk said.

The court was told that several question-and-answer documents, a forensic receipt, statements from the investigating officer and a corroborating officer, and duty rosters from the airport are currently on file.

Judge Bernard subsequently extended the defendants’ bails to February 26 and issued an ordered that disclosure of documents must be done for their lawyers, attorneys Martyn Thomas and Dalton Reid, by that date.

It is alleged that, on December 11, 2024, officers from the Jamaica Constabulary Force’s Firearms and Narcotics Investigation Division, along with agents from the Jamaica Customs Agency Contraband Enforcement Team, carried out an operation at the Sangster International Airport, during which 28.5 pounds of cocaine, with an estimated street value of £500,000 [J$98.3 million], was seized.

Five airport employees were taken into custody and interviewed by the police. Powell, Jones, and Simpson were later formally arrested and charged, while the other two persons were released, pending further investigations.

The St James Parish Court has previously overseen cases of alleged drug smuggling in which employees of the Sangster International Airport were implicated. One such case involved the arrest of airport employees Indra Waite, Brelanie Reid, Tavon Murray, and Romaine Kerr, in connection with the seizure of 11.4 kilogrammes of cocaine on October 10, 2021. Those accused persons’ charges were later dismissed.

In another case, airport ramp worker Jermaine Scott was arrested and charged after cocaine weighing 2.5 kilogrammes was found in his airport-issued raincoat on January 29, 2023. He was sentenced to nine months’ imprisonment on June 7, 2024, after being tried and found guilty of possession of, dealing in, and attempting to export cocaine.