Le Shaughn Smith & Tarik Aaron remanded for alleged trafficking in narcotics
The men were arrested and charged following the February 2, 2016 joint operation between Her Majesty’s Customs and the United States Customs and Border Patrol Authorities.
Virgin Islands News Online had first reported on February 3, 2016 that law enforcement agencies had made a major drug bust in Virgin Islands waters.
According to the Prosecution, the quantity of the drugs recovered during the operation is 24 kilogrammes with a street value of $24 million United States dollars.
The trial is slated to commence on February 10, 2016. According to Crown Prosecutor Garcia Kirt Kelly, Le Shaughn Smith, 25, and Tarik Aaron, 22, were on a 30 foot boat named Renegade on February 2, 2016. Aaron was said to be the captain of the boat. Attorney at law Leroy Jones appeared for both of the accused and tried valiantly to secure bail on their behalf.
'Objects' discovered floating in water
The court was told that around 9:30 pm on the day in question, a joint law enforcement operation was taking place and at around 10:00 pm officers saw the vessel occupied by the two accused heading towards Little Thatch Island and engaged them in pursuit.
The officers engaged their flashing lights but the Renegade remained on the run, failing to heed to the instructions to stop.
While in pursuit, the officers saw objects floating in the water. The Prosecution said that no other vessel was around at the time save for the Renegade and the vessel that the law enforcement personnel were on.
The officers then boarded the Renegade and secured the occupants before retrieving the objects in the water. According to the Prosecution, the officers found a ‘One Mart’ shopping bag with the straps ripped off. In the bag, the officers found a cardboard box with 24 blocks of what was believed to be cocaine wrapped in dark coloured plastic.
The vessel was then taken to the Police Marine Base where the accused were informed early on the morning of February 3, 2016 that they were being arrested for possession of a controlled drug. At the Police Marine Base officers searched the vessel and while nothing illegal was found, items of evidential value, to wit, the straps matching the One Mart bag, were found.
According to the Prosecution, Aaron was cautioned in relation to the straps and he said that he did not know anything of them. Both of the accused were then taken to look at the packages retrieved from the water and that both denied any knowledge of it, saying, “I ain’t never seen this before.”
Prosecutor Kelly said the Crown was strenuously opposed to bail in the circumstances that both of the accused have previous matters before the courts – Aaron for immigration offences and Smith for possession of controlled substances.
Magistrate DaBreo objected to bail on the grounds that the offence for which they had appeared was itself serious, adding to the fact that they both had previous violations of the law that could be considered serious as well.
Jones had also asked for the boat to be returned to its owner, the father of Aaron. However, the Magistrate said it is standard that the boat must be processed and then based on what is found it will be determined whether the boat is returned to the owners or confiscated.
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81 Responses to “Le Shaughn Smith & Tarik Aaron remanded for alleged trafficking in narcotics”
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S.O.B..mean..A Set of B**tBoys..The rest of u all gonna get it..You all Grave donet dig..Buried alive,Wait ..you all gonna See..Watch what happens Next..
M**se set up T**** cause he went on his own beat sob keep yo eyes on that guy