KINGSTON, Jamaica, CMC:
FOUR JAMAICAN hotel workers who were freed of looting charges in New Orleans on Wednesday are expected to return home by Saturday.
The men, who were released into the custody of the Ministry of Labour and Social Security's liaison Wednesday evening, were heading to Florida where they would be placed on a flight destined for Jamaica.
"I'm sure their parents and loved ones are also happy about the outcome, and I'm also extremely happy about the outcome of the case. I'm hoping that by the latest Friday they should be back home," said Labour and Social Security Minister Horace Dalley.
ACCUSED OF LOOTING GO-CART
As part of their release, the Jamaicans were ordered to leave the United States immediately. The men were arrested and charged on August 30, a day after Hurricane Katrina wreaked havoc on New Orleans. The four, who are from the northern parish of St Ann and the central parish of St Catherine, are accused of having looted a go-cart.
The men, who were all repeat participants in the hotel programme, left the island in May of this year and would have returned in November.
