THE United States has asked Jamaica to extradite Leebert Ramcharan and Donovan “Plucky” Williams, the two alleged drug kingpins who were held by the narcotics police in Montego Bay on Wednesday.

Narcotics chief, Senior Superintendent Carl Williams, told Resident Magistrate Martin Gayle in the Corporate Area Criminal Court yesterday that the two alleged drug lords were being sought by the US State Department to face drug trafficking charges. Provisional warrants of extradition been already been served on both men, Senior Superintendent Williams told the court.

The narcotics chief was called before the court to explain the men’s situation after their attorneys filed writs demanding their release.

Superintendent Gladstone Wright later told the Observer’s Western Bureau that Ramcharan was wanted in Florida on drug and money laundering charges.

The two alleged drug traffickers were arrested on Wednesday by the narcotics police in Montego Bay and extensively interrogated before being taken to Kingston by helicopter.

Yesterday, defence lawyer Tom Tavares-Finson complained to the magistrate that he and other lawyers have been denied access to Ramcharan and Williams. However, The attorney’s claim was denied by the narcotics chief, who told the court that the lawyers were free to contact their clients. The two men are scheduled to appear in court today.

In the meantime, Security Minister Peter Phillips said yesterday that Wednesday’s arrests of two Montego Bay businessmen on drug trafficking charges were results of a cooperative effort between several countries, but noted the success was only the first of many steps.

“It represents an important step forward, but it is only one step of many steps we intend to take in this regard because we believe that the illegal trade in narcotics constitutes the greatest danger to our society and our survival generally within the region and our development prospects of the region,” Phillips said at a press conference in Kingston.

The Jamaican security minister, meanwhile, promised a redoubling of police investigations “until we are able to see an important gain made in rolling back this (drug) trade that threatens us”.

Said Phillips: “I’ve always said that he ultimate goal must be to bring to justice those who are the key organisers of the illegal trade in narcotics and the variety of activities that [stems] from the illegal trade.”

Local police reported Wednesday that the arrests of Ramcharan and Williams were part of an international initiative involving the authorities in Colombia, Jamaica, the United States and Panama.

The police had reported Wednesday that they had seized three motor vehicles – a Ford Expedition truck, a Lexus motor car and Toyota Harrier SUV – along with documents found at Ramcharan’s posh residence in Ironshore, Montego Bay. However, the police reported yesterday that four more vehicles – a Toyota Land Cruiser SUV; a BMW X5 SUV; a Dodge Ram pick-up and a Ford F150 pick-up truck – were seized from Ramcharan’s residence early yesterday morning.

Ramcharan is the owner and operator of the Caribbean Showplace and Caribbean Beach Park in Montego Bay. Two fishing vessels on the beach park were yesterday searched by the police and a flare gun with 200 rounds of .177 ammunition seized.

Williams, who lives in the upscale Montego Bay Freeport area, operates a garage on Barnett Street. The top floor of the building is rented to other business operators.

Ramcharan’s brother, Norman, was held by British authorities last month and slapped with money laundering charges while he was about to board a flight from the Heathrow airport in London to Kingston.

A British man, Everton Dennis, who was reportedly held with £80,000 the same day, was also charged with money laundering.

The narcotics police were assisted in their operation by members of the Caribbean Search Centre, the Finance Investigative Unit, the Area One Fraud Squad, and the Montego Bay CIB.

Superintendent Wright said the police were pushing to have the assets of the alleged drug traffickers forfeited. “The assets will be seized and the court will decide. If these people are convicted for these offences and it can be shown that they derived these assetsfrom drug activities, then the forfeiture will take place,” Wright said.