By Barbara Gayle, Staff ReporterTHE NINE men who were charged in July of last year with conspiracy to traffic drugs after persons were seen loading packages on to an aircraft at the Tinson Pen aerodrome in St. Andrew were freed on Tuesday after Resident Magistrate Kissock Laing refused to grant an order to proceed to trial.
After the allegations in the case were outlined to the court, the Resident Magistrate said he was not going to grant an order for an indictment to proceed to trial because he was not satisfied that the evidence which the Crown proposed to lead was sufficient to infer that a conspiracy existed.
NO DRUGS WERE FOUND
He further pointed out that no drugs were found. He said in the absence of drugs there was no other evidence from which it could be inferred that the alleged offences of possession of, attempting to export, dealing or trafficking in the same had taken place.
It was alleged that about 5:15 a.m. on July 13 last year, a police party which was in the vicinity of the aerodrome observed men pushing an aircraft on to the runway. The men were in the process of loading packages on to the aircraft. During the loading, the aircraft began to move and the police attempted to stop it. The aircraft came in their direction and the police had to jump out of the way. The aircraft left and returned some hours later.
One of the accused men, Barrington Anderson, gave a voluntary statement to the Narcotics police as to what had taken place. He reported that he was convinced that it was either ganja or cocaine in the packages. He said he had worked at the airport and when drugs were seized, they were packaged similar to the packages that were being loaded on to the aircraft.
Anderson was charged along with Anton Johnson, a 42-year-old Bahamian pilot, Police Corporal Fabian Johnson, Jerome Constantine, Federick Barrett, Michael Nembhard, Curtis Menzie, Vincent Speid and Kirk Chambers. Chambers and Speid were said to be security guards employed to the Port Security Corps.
The men were arrested and charged following investigations by the Narcotics police.
