ROBERT BIDWELL, who is wanted by Canadian authorities, yesterday waived his rights to challenge proceedings to extradite him to his homeland to face multiple narcotics and money laundering charges.
Allegations are that Bidwell, who eluded the Canadian authorities for more than 10 years and fled to Jamaica, was picked up by the police late last year. Since his arrival in the island he married a Jamaican.
Bidwell appeared before Resident Magistrate Martin Gayle in the St. Andrew Criminal Court and is scheduled to return later this month for another hearing.
A spokesperson at the Financial Crime Department said Mr. Bidwell and several others had been under investigation for the past 20 years by law enforcement agencies from the United States, Canada and Jamaica.
The government obtained injunctions from the courts last year to restrain him from disposing of more than 10 of his properties, including some luxury apartments in St. Ann and other assets. He was convicted in 1989 of possession of ganja and hash oil and was fined more than $50,000.
Last week there was uproar in legal circles when the offices of two attorneys-at-law representing him in the extradition proceedings were searched by the police. The searches were to ascertain if there were any documents at the offices to assist the Canadian Goverment in their investigations.
The lawyers, Ernest Smith and Hugh Thompson, complained that the police removed several files belonging to other clients. The Jamaican Bar Association (JBA) has condemned the search, pointing out it was in breach of the confidentiality which exists between a lawyer and his client.
