Tension in Tivoli as US awaits word on Dudus's extradition
Thursday, September 03, 2009
POLICE confirmed yesterday that Tivoli Gardens in West Kingston has been 'tense' since last week's request from the United States Government for the extradition of community strongman Christopher Coke, alias Dudus.
Information surfaced yesterday that armed gangsters in the tough community were posted at key points to ward off any attempt by the security forces to arrest Coke.
An officer from the Kingston West Police Division told the Observer that the police were aware of the report.
"So we have heard; but we are always on the alert and we will go into Tivoli Gardens if the need arises. We are carrying out our duties just the same," said the cop, who declined to have his name associated with the story.
A resident of the garrison community, however, denied the report.
"Those are just rumours. The community is tense, but there are no armed men posted at no 'sentry points'. People always have guns but that is a normal thing in Tivoli," the resident said.
Other residents refuted a report that Coke had ordered them to stock up on food and other supplies in case the community came under siege from the security forces.
"Why don't they leave 'Shortman' (Coke) and Tivoli alone? From the argument buss, is just pure rumour. That is a big lie. He gave no such order," said one resident.
Coke has been accused of drug and arms trafficking by the US State Department, which last Friday unsealed an indictment outlining several allegations against him.
Coke's attorney, Tom Tavares-Finson, said the US Government would have to provide evidence to support the allegations in order to get Jamaica to extradite his client.
"The question to be asked is, what is the evidence to support the allegations? To date no such evidence has been presented to us," Tavares-Finson said.
Tivoli Gardens lies in the constituency of West Kingston and has long been a bastion of support for the ruling Jamaica Labour Party, whose leader, Prime Minister Bruce Golding is a member of parliament.
If found guilty of the narcotics charge, Coke could be slapped with a life sentence or a mandatory 10-year sentence as well as a fine of up to US$4 million.
If found guilty of the arms trafficking charge, Coke could spend five years in a US prison and be ordered to pay a fine of US$250,000.
Federal authorities have also threatened to seize all of Coke's known assets if he is found guilty.
Up to late yesterday, Minister of Justice and Attorney General Dorothy Lightbourne had not signed an authorisation to proceed, which would which would set the process of Coke's extradition in motion.
I guess someone has to convict these people. Somebody is harming the youths and bring the drugs in the country. It is up to US to find him guilty. My problem the US always give these crooks a few years then deport them to continue the same way of life.
If found guilty of the narcotics charge, Coke could be slapped with a life sentence or a mandatory 10-year sentence as well as a fine of up to US$4 million.
If found guilty of the arms trafficking charge, Coke could spend five years in a US prison and be ordered to pay a fine of US$250,000.
Federal authorities have also threatened to seize all of Coke's known assets if he is found guilty.
fire deh a muss-muss tail im tink a cool breeze
let's see if he can shoot his way out of this or disappear into thin air
uncle sam like Arnold need funds bad - dons provide a gold mine calls to fidel cell going to voicemail, try strongman in caracas
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One possible reason why things are not going according to plans is there never was a plan
A local intelligence official is warning that the nation is being plunged into a diplomatic nightmare, which is likely to have dire implications for the safety of the public and the economy of the country, with the apparent failure of Jamaican authorities to act on an extradition order for west Kingston strongman Christopher 'Dudus' Coke.
"This is beginning to look like a fundamental breach of international laws and protocol," the official with connections to national security told The Gleaner.
"Each signatory of the extra-dition treaty is paying close attention to the issue, and is making a report to their homeland," he claimed. "The matter could be managed better ... . It is not looking good at the moment."
The official referred to special treatment, which should have been exercised to ensure that public safety is maintained.
"There is no reason why the arrest cannot be made as soon as the order is signed ... . He (Coke) should have been arrested in secrecy, after which the details of the extradition could have been released to the public."
The official said the safety of the public was being compromised with each day that passes with the extradition order not acted on.
He further suggested that this was likely to have a serious effect on the fragile economy of the country, particularly in relation to the struggling tourism industry.
Jamaica is no stranger to extradition orders from the United States since the two countries signed the treaty in 1991
Former national security minister, Dr Peter Phillips, is one of two such ministers in the life of the People's National Party government that stretched between February 1989 and September 2007.
The other was K.D. Knight.
"As far as I know, there is nothing specific in terms of a response time (to a request for extradition)," former national security minister Dr Peter Phillips told The Gleaner.
"It is expected that the response to the request must be done within a reasonable time."
Machinery
Phillips said the Government's preparation after the request is received is primarily dependent on how quickly the State can put the machinery in place to have the order carried out.
The machinery, he said, usually comprises the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Ministry of Justice and the Ministry of National Security.
Phillips said the national security ministry would be responsible for dealing with apprehension of the suspects through the security forces, if that became necessary.
"In the case of sensitive persons, special arrangements are put in place in the event that special arrangements have to be put in place," Phillips disclosed.
"Usually, the government requesting the extradition order alerts the receiving government that a request is on its way."
Phillips said this was intended to ensure that all could be put in place to prevent public disorder, among other things.
Over the past two decades, since the extradition treaty has been modernised, the Jamaican Govern-ment has not been spared raging controversies sparked by extradition orders for reputed area dons.
Other cases
A prominent case was that of Lester Lloyd Coke, better known as Jim Brown, the father of the latest extradition target, Dudus.
The elder Coke was never extradited to the United States.
He challenged the ruling but died in a fire at the Tower Street Adult Correctional Centre in 1992, before his case was completed.
The smoke had hardly cleared in the early 1990s, when the United States dispatched an extradition order for Richard 'Storyteller' Morrison on drug-trafficking charges.
The then Government came in for severe criticism from the then Opposition and the legal fraternity when Morrison was extradited under "unusual" circumstances before his case was completed.
Since then, other prominent names which have been the subject of extradition orders are Vivian Blake, Norris 'Deedo' Nembhard and Leebert Ramcharan.
"All that is being asked of the Government is to determine that the request is properly made and executed, that there is a prima facie case. The case is not for the Government to try," Phillips asserted.
"That is why the treaty is with countries whose system can stand up to scrutiny," the former national security minister said.
Intelligence official says extradition case should be handled better
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Gweh get messy now. Watch badman hide behind children and woman frock.
If the US comes for him, they aren't just going to leave with him alone. Nuff nuff man going also. Herein lies the rub.
They 'may as well' stay, build prisons, get biometrics of every one on the island, go after the lower level and 'clean up'(passport office, govt agencies etc). Everyone will have to prove ownership of land, car, bank accounts etc. Banks might have to explain why it takes over month to clear money, etc. The corruption is bottomless.
Having ceded to the 'dons', is the US such a bad option, as we can't go on like this.
BTW: How is the murder rate for same period compared to last few years since announcement of extradition?
Gweh get messy now. Watch badman hide behind children and woman frock.
If the US comes for him, they aren't just going to leave with him alone. Nuff nuff man going also. Herein lies the rub.
They 'may as well' stay, build prisons, get biometrics of every one on the island, go after the lower level and 'clean up'(passport office, govt agencies etc). Everyone will have to prove ownership of land, car, bank accounts etc. Banks might have to explain why it takes over month to clear money, etc. The corruption is bottomless. Having ceded to the 'dons', is the US such a bad option, as we can't go on like this.
BTW: How is the murder rate for same period compared to last few years since announcement of extradition?
The humiliation has begun.
Not sure where you are going with the above, but I am sure you are joking.
Fact is, the US law enforcement cant or guess I shoudl say wont "come to get him", just like they wont go across the border with Canada or Mexico to get anyone under indictment in a US court.
The JA authorities have to take the lead and decide if there is any substance to the indictment - then start extradition proceeding.
On the grand scheme of things, this idiot is a "friers" compared to the Mexican drug barons the US would like to get their hands on. But its an opportunity for the JA govt. to rid the country of such a parasite.
We need to watch this closely as it can indicate who running things. The Gov or the Dons. It seems that certain Dons are protected or Gov scared. Whatever it is it does not look good for Jamaica if we protect criminals
By PAUL HENRY Observer staff reporter henryp@jamaicaobserver.com
Monday, September 28, 2009
Prime Minister Bruce Golding yesterday broke his silence on what seems, at least from the outside, a Jamaica stand-off with the United States over that country's extradition request for Tivoli Gardens area leader Christopher "Dudus" Coke on drugs and gun-related allegations.
Golding, who was addressing Jamaica Labour Party supporters at the Jamaica Conference centre in Kingston, said to thunderous applause that the country had a right to protect its citizens. Karl Samuda left, listens as Prime Minister Bruce Golding addresses The Jamaica Labour Party held conference yesterday.
"The [justice] minister's obligation, first and foremost, is to protect the rights of Jamaican citizens and to ensure that the protection of those rights is consistent with the application of the [Mutual Assistance Treaty] in each particular case," said Golding.
According to Golding, under whose West Kingston constituency Tivoli Gardens falls, the treaty also outlines the procedures to be followed in such matters, while noting that the minister needed to exercise due diligence in coming to a decision on whether or not to proceed with extradition proceedings against any citizen.
Golding, while noting that he would not say much on the subject due to ongoing discussions between both countries over the matter of Coke's extradition, noted that Jamaica was "committed to its obligation" under the Mutual Assistance Treaty.
Coke is wanted for trial in the US on multiple counts of drugs and arms trafficking.
The US had requested his extradition in August.
If found guilty of the narcotics charge, Coke could be slapped with a life sentence or a mandatory 10-year sentence as well as a fine of up to US$4 million.
If found guilty of the arms trafficking charge, Coke could spend five years in a US prison and be ordered to pay a fine of US$250,000.
Federal authorities have also threatened to seize all of Coke's known assets should he be convicted.
New 'Dudus' delay - Coke extradition request faces more delays as ministry seeks additional information
Published: Thursday | October 22, 2009
Coke
The Ministry of Justice is to send a second letter to United States authorities asking for more details, as the Government considers the extradition request for west Kingston strongman Christopher 'Dudus' Coke.
After spending more than a month going over the initial request, local justice officials penned a letter seeking additional information.
That response was received recently but the justice ministry is not satisfied and insists on more details.
Ongoing communications
"The communications continue and, as we speak, there is a formal communication going back to the (US) authorities in response to their response," Daryl Vaz, minister with responsibility for information, told the weekly post-Cabinet media briefing at Jamaica House yesterday.
According to Vaz, the latest communication from the justice ministry should be dispatched to the US by today.
Vaz did not provide any details on what is being requested but sources close to the case told The Gleaner that the justice ministry is not satisfied with the information surrounding the nine co-conspirators mentioned in the unsealed indictment against Coke.
According to the sources, the justice ministry requested information on the co-conspirators who are referred to in the indictment only ac 'CC-1' to 'CC-9'.
Right to anonymity
The sources said the Americans responded by pointing to a ruling by the US Supreme Court which states that a confidential informant has the right to anonymity in circumstances where his or her life is in danger.
That doctrine is called the 'personal security exception' and clarified an earlier US Supreme Court ruling that an accused person had the right to know the identity of his or her accusers because of the constitutional right of confrontation.
As a result of the exception. US extradition warrants and grand jury indictments do not need to identify the informants.
Other aspects
It is not yet known if the Jamaica authorities' latest request for additional information will challenge this claim or will examine other aspects of the extradition request.
However, the Government has already declared its commitment to protect the rights of Coke or any other Jamaican whose extradition is requested.
On August 28, the US authorities announced that they had charged Coke with conspiracy to distribute cocaine and marijuana and conspiracy to illegally traffic in firearms.
An extradition request for the businessman and political activist was subsequently sent to the Jamaican government.
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This reach associated Press now so it get serious. Dem have an article wha a say "jamaica is RESISITING a US request to hand over dudus". It ago get sticky now.
God bless the USA. I hope they don't sign off on the IMF loan unless the government extradite Dudus. Also, I hope they go after the pnp Don's too. Such as Skeng don. This would really clean up Jamaica politics, siince I am sure Dudus has evidence against the current administration. Like wise skeng don has evidence against the oppposition. Sweet days ahead, wonderful days.
God bless the USA. I hope they don't sign off on the IMF loan unless the government extradite Dudus. Also, I hope they go after the pnp Don's too. Such as Skeng don. This would really clean up Jamaica politics, siince I am sure Dudus has evidence against the current administration. Like wise skeng don has evidence against the oppposition. Sweet days ahead, wonderful days. respect.
Extradition is a legal process which has to go through the courts - basically the indictment has to have some substance to it - to prevent the likes of innocent you from being railroaded by idiot prosecutors. For this to work, even the murderers amongst us have the right to this process. The "government" cant simply hand over people because there is a request.
Have you checked into what happens when the JA govt. makes a request for a US citizen to be handed over to JA for trial?
South Africa police 'lose 3,000 guns a year' Almost 3,000 South African police firearms were lost or stolen in just nine months, it emerged today – about three for every police station in the country, which has some of the highest crime rates in the world.
By Sebastien Berger in Johannesburg Published: 5:10PM GMT 27 Jan 2010
The worrying statistic comes less than six months before the football World Cup kicks off in the country.
Dianne Kohler Barnard, the opposition Democratic Alliance shadow police minister, said that the state weapons manufacturer Armscor had recently ordered 4,000 replacement 9mm handguns made by the Italian manufacturer Beretta.
A parliamentary committee heard that 2,944 police weapons were lost or stolen between January and September last year – more than in the whole of 2008, which was itself an increase on 2007, she said.
The recovery rate for weapons stolen from or lost by police was "extremely low", Ms Kohler Barnard added, in contrast to thefts from civilians, where it was 100 per cent.
The figures suggest that, wittingly or unwittingly, South African police could be a major supplier of weapons to the country's criminal underworld.
"I can't discount that," said Ms Kohler-Barnard, adding that it was impossible to say how many of the guns declared lost had instead been sold by corrupt officers. "I don't know whether they are selling them or leaving them on the counter at Wimpy's when they go to have a hamburger." Investigations into lost firearms were sometimes launched, she said, but "nothing ever comes of them, nothing ever happens and no one is punished".
She called for action to ensure that fewer police guns "end up in the hands in criminals.
"The thought that a SAPS [South African Police Service] firearm might be used to shoot and kill a SAPS member is unconscionable," she said.
The SAPS spokesman responsible for firearms issues was in a meeting this afternoon and not available for comment.
Almost 50 people are murdered every day in South Africa, one of the highest rates in the world for a country not at war.
There are concerns over the safety of thousands of football fans attending this summer's event.
The wife of South Africa's intelligence minister has appeared in court accused of recruiting female 'mules' to smuggle cocaine into the country.
By Jane Flanagan in Cape Town Published: 3:25PM GMT 30 Jan 2010 Sheryl Cwele: South African minister's wife on cocaine charges Sheryl Cwele
Sheryl Cwele, herself a high ranking local government official, will remain in custody until a bail application in several weeks time.
The 50-year-old faces charges alongside a Nigerian man relating to procuring two women to smuggle drugs from Turkey and South America.
One of the women, who claims she was directly recruited by Cwele, will appear as the state's main witness, prosecutors said.
The opposition Democratic Alliance has demanded that the arrested woman's husband, State Security Minister Siyabonga Cwele, be brought before Parliament and consider his position, claiming that Cwele may have used her husband's contacts to gather intelligence to cover up her activities.
Mr Cwele has denied all knowledge of any alleged drug trafficking.
Cwele's arrest comes months after an investigation by a local newspaper which linked her to the jailing in Brazil of a single mother who was found with 22lbs (9.2kg) of cocaine in her luggage, worth approximately £300,000.
Pietermaritzburg High Court heard that Cwele, who was arrested at her municipal office on Friday, faces three charges alongside Nigerian Frank Nabolis - one count of dealing in dangerous dependency-producing drugs and two counts of incitement to dealing in dangerous dependency- producing drugs, dating back to May and June 2008.
The charges relate to procuring Charmaine Moss to collect drugs in Turkey and another, Tessa Beetge, to smuggle 9kg of cocaine from South America.
Prosecutors said they would oppose an application for bail.
In a statement, the Democratic Alliance, said: "This is disturbing news and raises a number of serious questions regarding the minister.
"We believe that he must demonstrate to the South African public that he is in no way compromised by this matter; if he fails to do so, he ought to stand down from his position right away."
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``Arresting Christopher Coke would require a major police and military operation,'' said a U.S. law enforcement official who requested anonymity because he was not authorized to speak publicly. ``It would take hundreds of people.''
