Calling it a “dark day in the criminal justice system”, King’s Counsel Michael Lashley yesterday criticised the arrest and charging of a man for importing drugs when he said that man was nowhere in Barbados.
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He made the comments as Troy O’Neal Rawlins appeared in the District “A” Traffic Court.
Rawlins, a 47-year-old trader, of Lodge Road, Christ Church, and 109149 Street, Jamaica, New York, United States, did not plead to possession of cannabis, having a traffickable quantity of the drug, possession with intent to supply and importation on June 21, 2023. The drugs allegedly weighed 24.86 kilogrammes with an estimated street value of $198 808.
There was no objection to bail and Lashley, who appeared with attorney Fay Burke, made an application for pre-trial disclosure.
“We want the disclosure because I believe the charge before the court is a trumped-up charge. It is a travesty of justice,” he said.
“My client was out of the island and was not present. The drugs [allegedly] came in in June. He was out of the island and the drugs belong to him?” Lashley queried.
“This is a travesty, an injustice, a dark day in the criminal justice system,” he added.
In the end, Magistrate Alison Burke released the accused with a surety of $30 000.
She confiscated his passport and transferred the matters to the District “B” Boarded
Hall Magistrates’ Court.
Rawlins will appear there on Friday.