THE court yesterday ordered the extradition of five Jamaicans and a Colombian to the United States to face alleged drug trafficking charges.

The six – Norris ‘Dedo’ Nembhard, labelled by United States president George W Bush as an international drug kingpin; ex-police corporal Herbert ‘Scarry’ Henry; Vivian ‘Jungo’ Dalley; Robroy ‘Spy’ Williams, Glenford ‘Toe’ Williams; and Colombian national Louis Miguel Avila Arias – were ordered extradited in the Corporate Area Resident Magistrate’s Court. They were making their 64th court appearance yesterday.

Family members of the six men broke down in tears after Resident Magistrate Martin Gayle ruled that they be taken to the maximum security Tower Street Adult Correctional Centre in downtown Kingston to await their extradition.

RM Gayle, however, told the men that they had 15 days to appeal through a writ of habeus corpus in the Court of Appeal. The men’s lawyers have all stated their intentions to appeal the ruling.

In handing down his ruling on Henry, RM Gayle expressed his difficulty in coming to a decision.

“I took some time to come to a decision but I am convinced that there is sufficient evidence to make out a prima facie case against you,” Gayle told Henry.

In the meantime, the defence team representing Montego Bay-based cambio dealer, Adrian Armstrong, who is also facing extradition, filed a constitutional motion on behalf of their client in the Supreme Court against the Attorney-General and the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP). The claim challenged the constitutionality of the Extradition Act as a breach of Armstrong’s right to a fair trial, liberty and freedom of movement.

The United States District court in Puerto Rico wants Armstrong to stand trial for money laundering and drug offences.

Armstrong’s lawyers, Jackie Samuels-Brown and Jade Hollis, said the Extradition Act violates sections of the constitution which says the state cannot deprive a man of his liberty without just cause. They will argue that Armstrong should be released from behind bars.

The lawyers are also claiming damages against the government for breaches of Armstrong’s constitutional rights and said they would be seeking a review of the actions of Resident Magistrate Martin Gayle, who is presiding over the matter, and the DPP, who is representing the requesting state, in the extradition hearing for Armstrong.

Last month, US Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) officials in Tampa, Florida refused a request by the DPP’s office that audio tapes with three conversations the DEA said implicated the cambio dealer in drug smuggling and money laundering activities be sent to the court.

The attorneys are also seeking an order of mandamus which will direct the prosecution to admit the tapes into evidence.

In addition, the legal team wants declarations from the defendants that:

. under the Extradition Act searches violate an individual’s right to privacy;

. the ongoing extradition hearing has been depriving Armstrong of his right to a fair hearing and that the proceedings are an abuse of the legal process; and that

. the material produced by the prosecution is not evidence according to Section 14 of the Extradition Act.

The date for Armstrong’s claim to come before the Supreme Court is tentatively set for September, but his lawyers said they would be seeking to have the matter brought up earlier. He is expected to be brought back to the Corporate Area court next Thursday when his lawyers should inform the court if their bid was successful.

The six men who were ordered extradited yesterday were arrested last year by narcotics police after extradition requests were made by United States authorities in Tampa, Florida.

Government prosecutor Georgianna Fraser said the six men were part of a conspiracy to smuggle drugs from Colombia through Jamaica to the United States.

“There is evidence that implicates them in this conspiracy and would make a prima facie case against them,” Fraser said.

Fraser cited the affidavit of Delroy ‘Sky Blue’ Williams, nephew of Robroy Williams, who was held by DEA agents on a go fast boat with 1,050 kilograms of cocaine in waters between Colombia and Jamaica in 2002, as evidence that his uncle along with Nembhard, Dalley and Arias had all taken part in drug smuggling operations in 2002.

The younger Williams gave evidence that his uncle paid him $1.5 million after a successful drug smuggling operation in March 2002, when he and four other men smuggled over 1,000 kilograms of cocaine from Colombia to Jamaica on a go fast boat. Williams said the drugs were taken from Negril point to a house in Lilliput, St James.

Williams also told US police that Dalley was the accountant in the drug smuggling ring and had made several trips to Panama to make payments for drugs to Colombians, and that in December 2001 Dalley and himself delivered a box with more than US$2 million to his uncle’s office in Coral Gardens.

Williams also said he witnessed Nembhard pay over US$50,000 to Robroy Williams.