The home of Lebert Ramcharan, in the upscale Spring Gardens section of Ironshore on the outskirts of Montego Bay, where narcotics agents spent most of yesterday searching for clues.

WESTERN BUREAU - Montego Bay narcotics agents yesterday spent most of the day in an upscale neighbourhood in the city, where they seized a number of high-end vehicles after taking into custody two well-known businessmen, who they say are major players in the international drug trade.

The two drug-accused, Lebert Ramcharan and Donovan "Plucky" Williams, will face the Half-Way-Tree Criminal Court this morning.

However, attorney George Thomas yesterday questioned the grounds under which his clients had been detained and said he would inform the court of his concerns in a writ of habeas corpus when they appear before the court today.

Ramcharan's Ford Expedition being towed away by a wrecker after cops seized it and at least two other vehicles during a sting operation.

According to Thomas, the police ignored his requests for an explanation yesterday. "I tried to speak to them and they never responded, so I will be talking to the judge (today)," he told the Observer.

The police's information arm said the men were arrested on "narcotics related charges. after years of joint investigations into the trafficking of large quantities of narcotics from Colombia to the US and the UK via Jamaica". The local operation, the police said, came closely on the heels of the arrest of Colombian drug kingpin Gabriel "Ito" Zuniga and six other persons in Colombia.

The operations, they said, were continuing both inside and outside of Jamaica.

The sting, which began last month with a joint operation between local and British narcotics agents, entered another chapter at about 5:30 pm Tuesday evening when Ramcharan was picked up at the Wyndham Hotel in the Rose Hall area of Montego Bay. His brother, Norman, 48, had already been charged with conspiracy to launder money in the UK on February 7.

Police cars in the driveway of Lebert Ramcharan's posh Spring Gardens home, yesterday. (Photo: Vivian Tyson)

On Tuesday evening, Lebert Ramcharan - who cops said had been tied to his brother's activities and was under surveillance - was taken into custody and interrogated before being flown, via helicopter, to narcotics headquarters in Kingston.

Yesterday, the narcotics team went to his sprawling mansion in the upscale Spring Gardens community in Ironshore, on the outskirts of Montego Bay, where they seized at least three posh vehicles - a Lexus motor car, a Ford Expedition truck and a Toyota Harrier SUV - which were all towed away by a wrecker. The police have now set their sights on seizing other assets that belong to Ramcharan.

Cops have also said they will be moving to have the Montego Bay businessman extradited to the UK to face money-laundering charges.

Lawmen spent most of the day inside Ramcharan's palatial home, and in others they said he owns in the same community, searching for other clues to add to what they described as tons of evidence against the alleged drug lord.

Police say Ramcharan is believed to be a key player in a drug ring between Jamaica and the UK. His brother Norman had been arrested as he attempted to board a flight, destined for Jamaica, out of Heathrow.

Williams was picked up early yesterday morning at his apartment, in the pricey Montego Bay Freeport area, by narcotic agents who interrogated him before taking him via helicopter to their headquarters in Kingston.

Both men, the police said, were later taken to the Horizon Remand Centre.

For most of yesterday, the sting operation was widely discussed in Montego Bay where Williams was born and raised, and where Ramcharan - who has roots in Westmoreland - has done business for years.

Williams, a low-keyed 30-something garage operator, has run his business on Barnett Street for about three years. The top floor is rented out to other businesses.

Ramcharan is the proprietor of the popular Ironshore entertainment spot - Caribbean Showplace - and is also said to have interests in the meat retail industry.

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