2010 drug case deferred to April 28

WESTERN BUREAU:Two St James men who were arrested in 2010 in connection with a drug-smuggling operation between Jamaica and Canada had their case set for mention on April 28, when they appeared in the Montego Bay Resident Magistrate's Court on Monday.

Vincent Saddler, who is charged with conspiracy to export ganja, and Donovan Clarke, who is charged with possession and dealing in cocaine and conspiracy to export ganja, had their bail extended after Resident Magistrate Carolyn Tie was told that the representatives from the office of the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP), who have conduct of the case, had not come to court.

It is alleged that, on December 1, 2010, Saddler, a former police sergeant, and Clarke, who was employed to Sangster International Airport in Montego Bay, were arrested during an operation by investigators from the Anti-Corruption Branch in relation to alleged narcotics trafficking between the Sangster International Airport and the Lester B. Pearson International Airport in Toronto, Canada. Nine alleged co-conspirators were also arrested in Canada as a result of the same operation.

On Monday, Clarke's attorney, Dionne Meyler-Reid, complained that the case against the two men had been in limbo because of the perpetual absence of the DPP representatives.

"The DPP has a direct interest in this matter; however, they have never made themselves available. The case has moved from the trial list to the mention list, and we (defence team) have not been served with everything," said attorney Meyler-Reid.

The court was subsequently told that a request had been sent from the DPP's office to have the case against Saddler and Clarke brought before the next sitting of the Circuit Court, on April 23.

"I will hear your application sometime after April 23, counsel," RM Tie told Meyler-Reid, before eventually setting the case for mention on April 28.

- C.T.