ST JAMES, Jamaica  — A man nabbed in a police raid and slapped with cocaine possession charges argued in court Thursday that neither he nor cops knew if the substance found in his possession was crack cocaine or not.

Iro Thomas, who was arrested during a police raid in St James on October 19, appeared before Parish Judge Gabrielle Wilks. Attorney Jermaine Campbell was acting amicus – meaning he assisted in the hearing and offered legal advice since Thomas did not have a lawyer formally representing him.

According to court documents, the investigating officer, who was part of a police team, went to a beach in St James to conduct the targeted operation. The cop allegedly observed Thomas and another man standing on the beachfront engaged in conversation. Thomas reportedly had a bottle in his hand and was acting suspiciously, prompting the police man to approach him.

As the cop drew closer, Thomas allegedly said, “Offica, a nuh crack mi a sell… Mi find it.”

During a search of the bottle, cops reportedly found seven pieces of a substance suspected to be crack cocaine.

Thomas was taken into custody and later charged with possession of cocaine.

During Thursday’s hearing, Campbell argued that no preliminary test was carried out to confirm whether or not the substance found in the bottle was actually cocaine.

“He’s saying that he is guilty for whatever he had… What he’s saying is that he found it,” Campbell told the court. “He can’t say what he found is what they say he found. And the Crown has nothing to substantiate that what they say he found is what he found. At this juncture, he himself doesn’t even know what he found.”

At that point, Thomas also maintained that he merely found the items, was not selling anything, and did not know what the substance was.

Judge Wilks attached reporting conditions to his $150,000 bail and set the matter for mention on January 14, 2026.