Four accused of involvement in international drug ring, freed of charges

By Clinton McGregor   

 

Four men who were placed on trial four years ago for money laundering after being accused of being major players in an international drug trafficking network between Jamaica and the United States, were freed Thursday afternoon before the St. James Parish Court.

 

The men — 57-year-old building contractor Robert Dunbar, 50-year-old Delroy Gayle, 45-year-old businessman Louis Smith and Melford Daley — were charged by Major Organised Crime and Anti-Corruption Agency (MOCA) and the Financial Investigation Division in a major investigation between the Jamaica and US law enforcement agencies in 2013.

 

Prosecutors had accused the men of being involved in international drug trafficking and money laundering.

 

The accused were charged after a man, said to be one of their associates, was convicted in 2012 and sentenced to 27 years in the United States.

 

He later decided to cooperate with American prosecutors and their Jamaican counterparts in their investigation of the men.  

 

The associate, Dean Drummond, testified via video link from a US prison during the lengthy trial which began in 2019.

 

However, the defence team which included Hugh Wildman, Tom Tavares-Finson KC, Oswest Senior Smith and Martin Thomas challenged the credibility of the witness who claimed the men were members of his drug organisation.

 

During no-case submissions which began on November 3, the attorneys highlighted what they described as discrepancies in some of the testimonies of the 20-plus witnesses called by prosecutors.

 

The trial judge accepted the submissions and dismissed the case.