Cop testifies in cabbie’s drug trial
Apoliceman on Friday recounted the steps he took after receiving information about cocaine discovered at a courier service company. The case involves a taxi driver who is accused of attempting to ship the drugs overseas.
The detective constable assigned to Area One Narcotics was giving his evidence-in-chief in the case against Sanchez Rodney, who is on trial for possession, dealing and attempting to export cocaine.
The cop testified that on February 4, 2022, about 12:30 pm, he was at the narcotics office at Summit Police Station when he received a phone call from a customs officer assigned to the Contraband Enforcement Team [CET].
He further stated that after obtaining the information, he went to the Fairview courier service establishment with a colleague. There, he engaged in conversation with the customs officer, who handed him a brown carton box and provided specific details to him. According to him, the box contained an airway bill bearing the defendant’s name and was intended for an individual in the United Kingdom.
During further testimony, the policeman said he opened the box, which he said contained a variety of assorted seasonings, one of which was found to contain a package with a white powdery substance that later tested positive as cocaine.
Shortly after, he said, the customs officer handed him another box with similar contents, including one that also revealed a package containing a similar white substance that tested positive for cocaine. The airway bill, bearing Rodney’s name, was addressed to an individual in Maldives.
The cop stated that he placed the exhibits in separate transparent plastic bags, properly labelled each bag, and then handed them over for secure storage before receiving a receipt from the Forensic Laboratory.
He also said during his testimony that he went to the courier service company the same day to obtain video recordings.
Under cross-examination, the cop was asked by Rodney’s lawyer, Henry Mccurdy, if he had ever communicated with any of the customer service agents, to which he responded that he was prohibited from doing so.
No further witnesses were summoned to testify in court, and the trial is set to continue on April 24.
Rodney’s bail was extended. According to court records, on February 4, 2022, about 1:00 pm, the CET was conducting security checks on outgoing shipments at a Montego Bay courier service company when two boxes were checked. The narcotics officers were called and the boxes were checked and were found to contain four ounces of cocaine.
Rodney was arrested following an investigation.