(Jamaica Gleaner) – A local intelligence official is warning that the nation is being plunged into a diplomatic nightmare, which is likely to have dire implications for the safety of the public and the economy of the country, with the apparent failure of Jamaican authorities to act on an extradition order for west Kingston strongman Christopher ‘Dudus’ Coke.
“This is beginning to look like a fundamental breach of international laws and protocol,” the official with connections to national security told The Gleaner.
“Each signatory of the extradition treaty is paying close attention to the issue, and is making a report to their homeland,” he claimed. “The matter could be managed better … . It is not looking good at the moment.”
The official referred to special treatment, which should have been exercised to ensure that public safety is maintained.
“There is no reason why the arrest cannot be made as soon as the order is signed … . He (Coke) should have been arrested in secrecy, after which the details of the extradition could have been released to the public.”
The official said the safety of the public was being compromised with each day that passes with the extradition order not acted on.
He further suggested that this was likely to have a serious effect on the fragile economy of the country, particularly in relation to the struggling tourism industry.
Jamaica is no stranger to extradition orders from the United States since the two countries signed the treaty in 1991
Former national s
ecurity minister, Dr Peter Phillips, is one of two such ministers in the life of the People’s National Party government that stretched between February 1989 and September 2007.
The other was KD Knight.
“As far as I know, there is nothing specific in terms of a response time (to a request for extradition),” former national security minister Dr Peter Phillips told The Gleaner.
“It is expected that the response to the request must be done within a reasonable time.”
Phillips said the government’s preparation after the request is received is primarily dependent on how quickly the state can put the machinery in place to have the order carried out.
The machinery, he said, usually comprises the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Ministry of Justice and the Ministry of National Security.
Phillips said the national security ministry would be responsible for dealing with apprehension of the suspects through the security forces, if that became necessary.
“In the case of sensitive persons, special arrangements are put in place in the event that special arrangements have to be put in place,” Phillips disclosed.
“Usually, the government requesting the extradition order alerts the receiving government that a request is on its way.”
Phillips said this was intended to ensure that all could be put in place to prevent public disorder, among other things.
Over the past two decades, since the extradition treaty has been modernised, the Jamaican government has not been spared raging controversies sparked by extradition orders for reputed area dons.
A prominent case was that of Lester Lloyd Coke, better known as Jim Brown, the father of the latest extradition target, Dudus.
The elder Coke was never extradited to the United States.
He challenged the ruling but died in a fire at the Tower Street Adult Correctional Centre in 1992, before his case was completed.
The smoke had hardly cleared in the early 1990s, when the United States dispatched an extradition order for Richard ‘Storyteller’ Morrison on drug-trafficking charges.
The then government came in for severe criticism from the then opposition and the legal fraternity when Morrison was extradited under “unusual” circumstances before his case was completed.
Since then, other prominent names which have been the subject of extradition orders are Vivian Blake, Norris ‘Deedo’ Nembhard and Leebert Ramcharan.
“All that is being asked of the Government is to determine that the request is properly made and executed, that there is a prima facie case. The case is not for the Government to try,” Phillips asserted.
“That is why the treaty is with countries whose system can stand up to scrutiny,” the former national security minister said.
