Donovan Williams(left) and Leebert Ramcharan

LEEBERT Ramcharan and Donovan Williams - the two alleged Montego Bay drug kingpins who were held by narcotics agents in March - were yesterday ordered extradited to the United States to face drug trafficking charges.

However, defence lawyers for both accused men yesterday gave verbal notice of appeal for a judicial review of the ruling handed down by Senior Resident Magistrate Martin Gayle. Both were ordered remanded in custody pending the appeal.

At the same time, Norris "Dedo" Nembhard, who, along with Ramcharan, was last week named among 10 international drug kingpins by American President George W Bush, was yesterday denied bail when he appeared before the Supreme Court.

In handing down his judgment in the Half-Way-Tree RM Court for Ramcharan and Williams to be extradited, the magistrate said he was satisfied that the affidavit documents implicating the two alleged drug kingpins were duly authenticated and that the offence of conspiracy to import and distribute drugs were equivalent to the Jamaican offence.

Defence lawyers had submitted last week that the charges of possession of cocaine and conspiracy to import and distribute drugs did not conform with Jamaican laws.

The court had, two Fridays ago, dismissed a third charge of attempting to import 1,422 pounds (647 kilograms) of cocaine into the United States because of insufficient evidence to support the charge.

Yesterday, Lord Anthony Gifford, who is heading the eight-member defence team for Ramcharan and Williams, argued in court that the accused men will not get a fair trial in the United States based on the 'drug kingpin' designation against Ramcharan last week by the US president.

Meanwhile, Nembhard was remanded in custody yesterday, despite his lawyers' vigorous argument that he was not a flight risk.

Narcotics police, who were armed with provisional warrants of arrest, held Nembhard, 52, and police constable Herbert 'Scarrie' Henry, 42, in St Ann in April.

Nembhard's legal team, led by Frank Phipps Q C and Wentworth Charles, had first filed a bail application in the High Court last week, after their May 17 appeal for their client's freedom was thrown out by Resident Magistrate Martin Gayle in the lower court.

The lawyers had argued that Nembhard was not a flight risk and that there was not enough evidence to justify keeping him locked up.

But yesterday, High Court Justice Patrick Brooks also rejected the application on the grounds that the magistrate had been justified in making his ruling.

Nembhard, Henry, and Colombian citizen Luis Miguel Avala Arias, who is listed on the US Drug Enforcement Agency's most wanted list, are all being kept at the New Horizon Remand Centre and are the subjects of extradition hearings.
The three, along with

. Robroy "Spy" Williams, 47, owner of the Jah Creation sound system and Westgate Hills, Montego Bay;

. Vivian "Jungle" Dally, 46, who operates a car wash and taxi service and is also from Westgate Hills;

. and three Colombians - Hugo Fernando Chegue Gomes, 47 year-old Roberto Chavez Lesmes, and 28 year-old Monica Soloma Tariles - had their extradition hearings held at the penal facility after security concerns and bomb threats plagued the Corporate Area Resident Magistrate's Court.

The designation of international drug kingpins by the United States means these persons and their associates are barred from doing business with the US.

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