Trending in Jamaica News: Judge berated St James as a haven for illicit drug trafficking.
St James Parish Judge Kaysha Grant bemoaned St James as a haven for illicit drug activity, especially trafficking and distributing cocaine via land and air.
In expressing her displeasure with the prevalence of drug trafficking in the parish, the Honorable judge said:
“This is the parish where we have seen all kinds of drug exportation cases, and what is popular is people using DHL and FedEx to transport drugs,”
“The drug is so valuable that there are contingencies that are put in place if you are held with it.”
The judge made the troubling statement on November 21, 2022, while presiding over a bail application hearing for 20-year-old Ashanta Ferguson, a British citizen charged with possessing and attempting to export cocaine.
Ferguson was caught with two kilograms of cocaine at the airport while preparing to board a flight.
The St James Parish court is bombarded with drug-related cases, and the street value of the drugs in each case is worth millions. For example, the police allegedly caught businessman Oral Johnson with 19 pounds of cocaine during a targeted operation in Coral Gardens on April 28, 2022.
And there is an ongoing trial of four employees of the Sangster Internationa airport. The four employees, Indra Waite, Brelanie Reid, Tavon Murray, and Romaine Kerr, were charged with attempting to export 11.4 Kilograms of cocaine in October 2021. The police intercepted the drugs before loading them onto a flight bound for Canada.
Judge Grant also mentioned the extent to which drug traffickers will go to defy efforts to eradicate the drug trade. She cited the case of two Americans citizens, Regina West-Thompson, and Simone Bolden, who absconded bail in 2021 amid a stop order preventing them from leaving the country. According to the judge, the two women were granted bail but vanished before their next court appearance.
However, despite her rants and raves, Judge grant granted the young British woman bail. And ordered the accused to surrender all her travel documents. The judge also placed a stop order at all airports and seaports. Then she said, let’s see if that will keep you in the country until the matter is complete.