Municipal employees in alleged cocaine bust to return to court next week

WESTERN BUREAU:

Trevon Clayton and Latoya Hemmings, the two senior municipal corporation employees who were allegedly caught smuggling 20.5lb of cocaine through the Sangster International Airport in Montego Bay, were given a new court date when they appeared in the St James Parish Court yesterday.

Following their court appearance, Hemmings had her bail extended, while Clayton, who was in custody, was remanded. They are to return to court on February 4 to undergo a case management hearing.

Clayton, a 40-year-old chief financial officer attached to the St Ann Municipal Corporation, and Hemmings, a 42-year-old senior managing accountant at the Trelawny Municipal Corporation, were represented by attorney Henry McCurdy when they appeared before presiding Parish Judge Nekiesha Fairclough-Hylton.

Hemmings was previously offered bail in the sum of $750,000 when she appeared in court on January 23, and was ordered to surrender her travel documents and report to the Duncans Police Station in Trelawny on a weekly basis. The bail offer was made on humanitarian grounds, as she was said to be suffering from medical complications.

Following his arrest, Clayton spent time in the Cornwall Regional Hospital under police guard. During that time, he reportedly passed out 83 pellets of cocaine, which he had allegedly swallowed as part of an illicit scheme.

Clayton and Hemmings were both charged under the Dangerous Drugs Act on January 16 with conspiracy to export, possession of, dealing in, and attempting to export cocaine by officers from the Firearms and Narcotics Investigation Division. The drugs allegedly found were valued at J$5 million.

According to the allegations, about midday on January 16, Clayton and Hemmings, who were travelling together, checked in at the airport to board a flight destined for New York in the United States.

During a routine security screening, the two were accosted and searched, and packages of cocaine were found in false compartments in their luggage. A sum of cash in US currency was also reportedly seized from Hemmings’ handbag.

They were both detained and, during a subsequent interview, Clayton reportedly admitted to having ingested cocaine pellets.

Clayton and Hemmings are the latest high-profile individuals to be arrested and charged in relation to cocaine trafficking offences. On January 8, police inspector Martin Walker, who was assigned to the Counter-Terrorism and Organised Crime Investigations Branch, was arrested in connection with the alleged seizure of 12.5lb of cocaine.

Walker is currently before the Kingston and St Andrew Parish Court, facing a charge of possession of cocaine, which is said to be valued at $30 million. The drugs were reportedly found in his motor vehicle during a police operation.

christopher.thomas@gleanerjm.com