MONTEGO BAY, St James — Farrel Kitson walked out of the St James Parish Court a free man on Wednesday after being arrested and charged 23 years ago when prohibited drugs were discovered inside his luggage at Sangster International Airport.

The accused man appeared before presiding parish Judge Sasha-Marie Smith-Ashley to answer charges of possession of ganja and cocaine.

According to court records, Kitson was arrested after cocaine and ganja were found inside his luggage as he was preparing to leave the country.

The matter first went before the court on August 18, 1999 and was adjourned sine die in 2000 due to the prosecution witnesses’ failure to appear.

The prosecution has since attempted to contact the investigating officer and was informed that he is no longer a serving member of the Jamaica Constabulary Force (JCF).

The judge then asked the clerk of court what the prosecution intends to do, and she stated that the prosecution will offer no evidence.

At that point Kitson was asked to enter a plea and he pleaded not guilty to the charges.

The Crown then offered no evidence in the case against the accused man due to its inability to secure the witnesses.

Smith-Ashley informed Kitson that he was entitled to a fair trial in a reasonable time, noting that in 1999 she presumed he had said not guilty, which meant that the burden of proof was on the prosecution to mount a case against him.

“In 2000 they weren’t able to do so because of the absence of the witness… So the matter was adjourned without a date being set,” the judge said.

“Twenty-three years later they are still not in a position to mount a case against you,” the judge added before discharging the accused man and telling him he was free to go.