Jermaine Scott, who was arrested and charged after 2.5 kilogrammes of cocaine was reportedly found in a raincoat at Sangster International Airport in January 2023, has been found guilty.

Presiding judge Sasha-Marie Smith-Ashley handed down the verdict on Friday following Scott’s latest appearance in the St James Parish Court.

The 34-year-old St James resident had pleaded not guilty to possession of, dealing in, and trafficking cocaine. He is being represented by attorney-at-law Henry McCurdy.

During his evidence-in-chief on March 26, Scott stated that when he was arrested on January 29, 2023, he was preparing to report for work at the airport when he was stopped and searched by a customs officer while leaving a restroom.

“I was about to leave and he reached for a coat on the bathroom door. He held it and said, ‘This does not feel right’, then told me to step back, and he then made a call to his fellow workers that he was in the bathroom. I asked him what was that for, and he told me to step back and go against the wall. I then asked him why, and he then proceeded to pull his service firearm and told me to step back,” Scott said, adding that he was also asked to remove his shoes.

Scott also stated that he did not know where the coat came from, while also denying any knowledge of cocaine being at the facility.

Under cross-examination from the prosecution, Scott denied that he had carried his own raincoat, which is part of his work uniform, into the restroom with him. He also disputed testimony from a previous witness that the customs officer came into the bathroom while he was there, insisting instead that the officer saw him exiting the bathroom.

Scott also told the court that he was taken to the customs office where he saw a substance, which was later identified as cocaine, being removed from the raincoat.

In her ruling on Friday, Smith-Ashley expressed confidence in the credibility of the prosecution’s witnesses. She found their testimony reliable and trustworthy.

She stated that she accepts that Scott was responsible for retrieving the raincoat from the door, rather than the customs officer, as he claimed. She also noted the defendant’s reluctance to release the raincoat when the customs officer attempted to take it for a search.

“The significance of the hesitance, I find, is something from which I can infer guilty knowledge,” the judge said.

After carefully examining all aspects of the case, Smith-Ashley concluded that Scott was guilty of all the charges levelled against him.

Consequently, she revoked his bail, ordered a social enquiry report, and remanded him in police custody until May 17 when he will be sentenced.

Scott was arrested at the airport by investigators assigned to the Narcotics Division after the cocaine was allegedly found in his possession during a law enforcement operation by the Narcotics and the Customs Contraband Enforcement Team.

The cocaine reportedly had a street value of approximately US$125,000.