Jamaican drug dealer gets 35 years

Convicted Jamican drug dealer, Leebert Ramcharam has been sentenced to 35 years imprisonment in the United States.



Ramcharan and his co-accused Donovan Williams were found guilty of drug-related offences on March 5 in a US court after a seven-week jury trial.



Ramcharan and Williams were convicted on charges of conspiracy to import and conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute five kilograms or more of cocaine.



Ramcharam, was designated a Drug kingpin by US President George W. Bush.



In 2004, Ramcharan and his associate, Williams were arrested in Montego Bay, St James.



They were extradited to the US last year, following a Supreme Court ruling.



The trial against the two men began in January this year and included testimonies from more than 15 witnesses.



Among those testifying were officers from the Jamaica Constabulary Force, the Royal Bahamian Police Force and the US Drug Enforcement Administration.



According to a statement on the website of the US Attorney’s Office, civilians from Colombia, the United States and Jamaica also testified.



The US government introduced more than 100 items of evidence, including wiretaps on the telephones of the co-conspirators between 2002 and 2003.



The court was told that Ramcharan was the leader of a sophisticated operation in Jamaica.



Between 1998 and 2004, his cocaine smuggling organisation received as much as 15,000 kilograms of the drug imported by way of go fast vessels from the Northern Coast of Colombia.



The court was told that the cocaine was stored in Jamaica and transported to The Bahamas on boats and airplanes.



It was then exported to the US for distribution and sale in South Florida.