Jamaica: Authorities have officially charged three Colombian nationals in connection with the country’s largest cocaine seizure, valued at $1.7 billion, marking it as the biggest cocaine bust in Jamaica’s history.
The people who are being accused of the charges are 39-year-old Lucio Henry, from San Andres, 34-year-old Arith Lopez, from Barranquilla, and 22-year-old Klein Sinclair, from Providence. All three are Colombian citizens.
According to police reports, the accused were arrested on March 21, at around 4:10 a.m., when the officers attached to the Jamaica Defence Force were patrolling off the coast of Alligator Pond, St Elizabeth. While patrolling, the officers noticed an unnamed fishing vessel offshore, following which they stopped it.
The officers found three men in the vehicle with the possession of 99 knitted bags containing cocaine, following which the officers immediately detained the persons and escorted the vessel and cargo to the Jamaica Defence Force Coast Guard base in Port Royal.
After that the officers handed it over to FNID investigators to conduct an inquiry and following the search of the vehicle officers discovered 99 knitted bags containing more than 2,400 parcels of cocaine weighing over 6,000 pounds.
All the three accused were later interrogated by the Detectives from the Firearms and Narcotics Investigations Division (FNID) in the presence of legal counsel and an interpreter who made them aware of their legal rights. Later, the accused were detained in a prison until March 31, where they were formally charged with the possession, dealing, trafficking, importing cocaine, conspiracy to traffic, and illegal entry.
Authorities also scheduled their date of appearance in the Kingston and St Andrew Parish Court on April 7, before the justice following their charges.
On Tuesday, Superintendent of Police Patrae Rowe, and the Director of FNID, formally gave a statement after charging the accused. In a statement Rowe stated that the seizure reflects a “consistent collaborative approach” to disrupting the illegal drug trade in the nation.
