Suspected Jamaican drug lord Christopher "Dudus" Coke on Friday afternoon pleaded not guilty to charges of drug and gun-trafficking.
The 41-year-old Coke, entered the plea at a Manhattan federal court in New York after being extradited from Jamaica Thursday.
Wearing dark blue prison fatigues and guarded by at least four U.S. marshals, Coke said “Yes, sir” when U.S. District Judge Robert Patterson asked him if he wanted to plead not guilty to the charges.
Dudus jailed
The judge then ordered that Mr. Coke be remanded in custody, before he set a new hearing for Monday June 28 to decide whether he should be jailed indefinitely pending trial.
Russell Neufeld, the lawyer appointed by the court to represent Coke Friday, declined comment after court.
If convicted, the accused drug kingpin faces life in prison.
Thursday, Mr. Coke made a brief appearance before a Judge at the Mobile Reserve here in Kingston to announce that he was waiving his rights to challenge the extradition.
Hours later he was on a plane being flown to the US.
World’s most dangerous
The US Justice Department says Mr. Coke is one of the world's most dangerous drug lords, but his supporters say he is a community leader.
Mr. Coke is accused of being the leader of the notorious Shower Posse, which US prosecutors say operates an international drug and gun smuggling network.
They say that Mr. Coke conspired to distribute cocaine and ganja throughout the eastern United States for more than 15 years.
The Shower Posse is also blamed for numerous murders.
When Mr. Coke was first indicted in the US last August, Prime Minister Bruce Golding initially fought the extradition, arguing that it was based on illegal wiretapping evidence.
But after months of delays and growing local and international criticism, he agreed to the execution of the arrest warrant against Coke in May.
However, gunmen loyal to Mr. Coke barricaded the streets in his Tivoli Gardens enclave and mounted attacks against the police.
A State of Emergency was declared and more than 70 people were killed in four days of gun battles between law enforcement and gunmen.
However, Coke managed to escape.
He was captured on Tuesday along the Mandela Highway in St Catherine.
No surrender
Meanwhile, the Attorney Frank Doddato, who takes over Coke's defense at his next hearing on Monday, said they are not looking to cut any deals.
According to the lawyer, "We aren't conceding the time of day".
And outside the courthouse, more than a dozen local relatives chanted "He's a Robin Hood! He's a Robin Hood!"
That was a reference to what cops say is Coke's reputation for distributing some of his ill-gotten gains to residents of the Tivoli Gardens slum.
Coke's cousin, Tanio Jackson, who lives in Brooklyn, said he is a good man.
He said the man he knows helps children, and he supports people in the community of Tivoli Gardens.
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