July 24 date for Dutchman on cocaine charges
Published:Tuesday | July 16, 2024 | 12:10 AMChristopher Thomas/Gleaner Writer
WESTERN BUREAU:
Patrick Crawford, the Dutch national who allegedly tried to smuggle $28.3 million worth of cocaine through Montego Bay’s Sangster International Airport on May 9, will have to wait until July 24 to know the status of his case’s progression in the St James Parish Court.
Crawford, who is charged with possession of, dealing in, and attempting to export 13.5 pounds of cocaine, got the new court date and was remanded by presiding parish judge Nateisha Fairclough-Hylton when he made his latest court appearance on Monday.
During the brief mention of Crawford’s matter, the court was advised that the prosecution is still awaiting a forensic certificate which has been outstanding from the file since May.
Following that update from the clerk of the court, Fairclough-Hylton set the matter for continuation on July 24 after a brief consultation with Crawford’s lawyer Henry McCurdy.
“On July 24, 2024, you will be taken back to court, Mr Crawford,” Fairclough-Hylton addressed the defendant as he was taken from the courtroom by the police.
According to the allegations, on May 9 at about 5 p.m., Crawford, a 44-year-old carpenter of a Rotherdam, Holland address, attempted to board a flight to Brussels, Germany at the Sangster International Airport in Montego Bay.
While checking in to board the flight, Crawford was approached and spoken to by narcotics personnel, following which his luggage was searched. The cocaine was then reportedly found in false compartments inside his luggage, and Crawford was arrested for breaching the Dangerous Drugs Act.
In addition to the incompletion of the case file because of outstanding documents, the progression of Crawford’s case in the St James Parish Court has been hindered by the defendant’s medical emergencies on more than one occasion.
During a previous court appearance on June 10, the court was informed that Crawford was suffering from a toothache and other ailments and needed medical attention. At that time, Crawford complained to the presiding judge at that time, Kaysha Grant-Pryce, that his requests to the police for medical attention and for his cell to be cleaned had fallen on deaf ears.
Crawford was later absent from court when his case was last mentioned on June 24, as he had been hospitalised that morning hours before his scheduled court appearance.
Crawford’s case is one of several notable cocaine-related matters to come before the St James Parish Court in recent months, with numerous similar high-profile cases having appeared on that court’s docket over the years. In several of those cases, defendants have reportedly been involved in trafficking millions of dollars’ worth of cocaine, to the extent that concerns have been previously voiced about St James being a haven for drug trafficking.