Five walk free in major BVI cocaine case
Five men accused in connection with a major cocaine seizure in BVI waters have walked free after Senior Magistrate Tamia Richards upheld a no-case submission and dismissed the charges against them.
Those freed of the charges of importation of a controlled drug and possession of a controlled drug with intent to supply are Cesar Diaz Abrahim and Ronald James of Trinidad & Tobago; Joel Santana Santos and Francisco Mejia Ortiz of the Dominican Republic; and Candido Rois Quezada of St Kitts and Nevis.
The men were among six people arrested after police intercepted the cargo vessel C Elizabeth II near Virgin Gorda in December 2025. Their trial began in May, with each pleading not guilty, except for the sixth accused — the boat captain.
Police witnesses testified that officers approached the vessel during the early morning hours of December 9 last year after spotting it at sea. Officers said they observed several people moving rapidly on deck and throwing packages overboard.
Police subsequently recovered 32 bags from the sea. Six people were found aboard the vessel when it was taken to Port Purcell, while three additional bricks of suspected cocaine were reportedly discovered aboard.
However, attorney E. Leroy Jones, representing the five defendants, argued that prosecutors failed to establish that his clients knew about or had control of the drugs.
A major issue in the case was identification. The defence challenged whether police officers could reliably identify any of the five men as the persons seen throwing packages from the vessel, given the distance, lighting conditions and difference in height between the cargo vessel and police boat.
During cross-examination, one police witness acknowledged that although he saw more than three people throwing items overboard, he could not identify which individuals were responsible.
Magistrate Richards ultimately upheld the defence’s no-case submission, bringing the case against the five men to an end.
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Give Jones a round of applause for finally winning a big case……LOL
What you mean finally?
Again a case is thrown out at half time!!!
I suspect that the DPP lost it rather than the Defendants winning it!
We need a new DPP.
Does this mean they get their cocaine back?
It was not theirs in the first place.
Man Im sick of this place. Criminals always getting off. No wonder you can’t even feel safe in your own country
THESE PEOPLE HAVE PEOPLE WORKING FOR THEM IN DEPARTMENT IN SOCIETY / HIGH & LOw , SO WHY WE ACTING SUPPRISED ????
so the biggest issue in the case was officers not being able to tell if the same people on the vessel were the ones throwing stuff overboard due to the distance and lighting?
but police still found some drugs on the boat….so who those belong to? nobody on the boat?
even if you cant recognize faces from that distance did the people that the officers saw just disappeared of the boat?
……
The police said they saw three people throwing drugs over the side, but could not identify which of the sox persons on board were throwing the drugs. If only three threw the drugs then three did not, and could claim not to be involved.
Tamia is correct, and the DPP should never have allowed the matter to proceed to trial.
So those who was throwing stuff can’t be identified ok fine.
what about the drugs found on the boat itself.
Wouldn’t all on board be involved?
Criminals got too much fickle defence
Police got it hard mehson.. even if you catch me on a vessel with drugs red handed I can get off. It’s that easy
I can drive around with gun and dope in my car and all I gotta say them ain mines
Or if police see me selling dope from a distance all I gotta do is run and when I get caught is ask them if them sure is me then see
Wow
Maybe crime life ain so bad after all. Make. Illegal money and if I get catch just play stupid
Just avoid being caught red handed with murder and you’ll be fine
The Captain at least,in my opinion, should be held responsible for transporting illegal cargo.
The Captain and or owner of the boat,should,in my opinion, be held criminally responsible for transporting illegal cargo.
is this a f**king joke???? the packages were thrown from that vessel, there wqas only 6 people on the vessel, how simple is that
The article indicated that the Captain has taken responsibility for the Cargo by pleading guilty. So why hold the others responsible? Also the police officer could not identify any of them.
The Captain is not 3 people.
Ain’t no way, police catch you throwing cocaine off a boat, found more onboard and you had no idea it was cocaine? Why throw the packages off the boat to begin with? Someone tipped them that the police were coming that’s why the rushed to get rid of it. How many people were on the boat?
the fulfillment business isnt such a bad business after all, they can live nice after suing the government.
Another case lost by the DPP sigh
so make money where you can. but this gov that jails locals for bag of weed, can’t pull this conviction with $30m of cocaine found clearly from a vessel identified as source.this fkn gov who fks our customers by jailing sailor for sailing through 10 acres of bvi waters without clearing, and this slides? lookouts everywhere, but especially inside gov ops. so they never get caught red hand. who the fk was the “flour” ordered by? no one buys down island flour when pr rt here. clown show continued . . .
poor big lake. if he had get caught bvi he would of gotten off ezy.
Idk why them man does personally venture out the bvi to do drugs or corruption.
them man get ego boost from getting away and being protected so much in them own country them feel they go spread out and do it in a next.
them man that get hold up connecting to a lot of big heads and elites. dont be surpise them jump to help he out in trini
Why is our DPP still in office??? Seriously? Has the DPP won any cases since gaining the job??
Nobody see any red flags? Nobody going to investigate? Nobody going to check the cases she loses?
Nada?? Crickets??
It’s time ⏲️ to outfitted the Police boat with hi-tech cameras .
Police screw up this.
This is deep in our VI culture.
When we have Pictures of Drug criminals posted on the walls of our House Of Assembly is it any surprise to find that this society is organised to let VI drug smugglers go.
Drug smuggling has Government involvement at the highest level, Government support, and is promoted and assisted by our Governments.
In the VI drug smugglingn s a promoted and revered activity.
Our youths are encouraged to enter the trade and do so enthusiastically as they know they have the support of the Government, the media and their peers and the entire population of the VI.
It is a culturall disease that has viral control of the VI.
With that and our support of and protection for hiding of assets and identities of people and companies laundering money and hiding wealth.
VI is living in a past colonial style world of Pirates and Privateers.
Our Government operates with colonial values based on inequality, creating a landholding, political power holding elite, and denying the vote to amajority of the population, whilst ensuring there is a morally repulsiveely low minimum wage to exploit workers (the people who vant vote!!!!) so those same elites can get rich off their backs.
Way back the planter settlers (using slave labour) did not like UK oversight and it seems for pretty much the same reasons our politcal elites do not want it now and push ever harder for Independence.