FOUR policemen and an ex-cop, who are charged with conspiracy to extort, were yesterday granted bail in the sum of $2 million with one or two sureties in the Corporate Area Resident Magistrate’s Court.

The five men — District Constable Ainsworth Williams; constables Clarence Ducille, Kevin Thompson and Omar Francis; and ex-police corporal Grantley Vickers — were given bail by Resident Magistrate Jennifer Straw, who laid out a number of conditions before making the bail order. A sixth policeman, Constable Dave Austin, was granted $400,000 bail on February 17, after his attorney, Peter Champagnie, successfully pleaded that his client was only present at the scene of the incident and was not implicated in the alleged crime.

The conditions of the court are that the accused men:

* report to Deputy Superintendent Maurice Goodgame of the Bureau of Special Investigation, (BSI) every Monday, Wednesday and Friday between the hours of 8:00 am and 5:00 pm;

* surrender their travel documents;

* observe a nightly curfew from 8:00 pm to 6:00 am; and

* appear in court weekly.

The accused men were also banned from all police stations, with the exception of the BSI. They have also been banned from visiting Denham Town, Jacks Hills Road, Russell Heights, Olympic Gardens, Mona, Havendale, Gordon Town, Mavis Bank, Shortwood Road, upper Old Hope Road — between Oxford Road and Matilda’s Corner — and the parish of Clarendon.

Bail was considered by the court because the defence lawyers argued that none of the witnesses involved in the case had expressed any concerns about their safety. The safety of the police officers in the lock-up was also another consideration, the legal team also argued.

Allegations against the men are that on the evening of January 28, this year, they attempted to extort US$2.5 million from Kingston businessman Marvin Wong. The men were held in a sting operation at the foot of Jacks Hill by members of the Bureau of Special Investigations.

The prosecution in the case had originally filed charges of breaches of the Corruption Act but later changed the charges to conspiracy to extort.