THE TWO Montego Bay businessmen who were taken into custody on Wednesday by the narcotics police are booked to appear in the Half-Way Tree Criminal Court today for extradition hearings.
Senior officers in the Narcotics Division told The Gleaner yesterday that the men, Leebert Ramcharan and Donovan 'Plucky' Williams, have been served with provisional extradition warrants which could result in them being handed over to United States authorities, to face drug charges in that country.
National Security Minister Dr. Peter Phillips described the men's arrests yesterday as a step forward in the crackdown on the illicit drug trade.
"What we have seen in the arrests is the result of co-operative efforts between a number of countries. It represents an important step forward, but it is only one step of many steps we intend to take in this regard," Dr. Phillips said.
The police arrested Ramcharan at the Wyndham Rose Hall Hotel while Williams was held at his home at the Seawind Apartments. Both have been described as significant players in an international drug smuggling syndicate, which the police say was being monitored by a team of law enforcement officers drawn from Jamaica, Colombia, Panama and the United States.
