FIFTY-FIVE YEAR-OLD Briton, Doreen Rodney, who was slapped with cocaine charges more than three months ago while in the company of her 10 year-old granddaughter, is set to stand trial on December 20 in the Montego Bay Resident Magistrate’s Court.

Rodney was charged with possession of, dealing in and attempting to export 12 pounds of cocaine after the drug was discovered inside both her luggage and that of her grandaughter’s.

On September 7 this year, canine officers cracked down on Rodney who was about to board a British Airways flight to London. A sniffer dog alerted the officers to her two suitcases and a travelling bag, and Rodney later identified them as belonging to her and her granddaughter. The luggage was searched and found to contain the 12 pounds of cocaine. Rodney was subsequently charged under the Dangerous Drugs Act.

When Rodney appeared before the court Wednesday, her attorney, Raynor King, attempted to have another mention date set on grounds that Rodney had cancer, and needed to see the doctor.

But presiding Judge Valerie Stephens would have none of it. She told King, who is Rodney’s third legal representative in the matter, that after three months, the case had dragged on for far too long. Against this background, the judge set the matter for trial on December 20.