Crime Reports for the year 2000:
August
Cops
fail fitness test
More than one third of the
overseas officers brought in to boost the Island's understaffed Police force
have failed their basic fitness test; eight out of the 21 Caribbean recruits
could not last the pace and were failed. The officers from Jamaica, St.
Lucia, Trinidad and Tobago and Anguilla, arrived at the beginning of last month
and were expected to be on the streets by next week.
Comment: okay so you let
the fitness standards slip - just how well did they do on their written exams,
first-aid, firearms...? Or would you rather not tell us? Just what
is your selection criteria when you interview? The situation would be laughable
if it were not so serious - you can offer these recruits the opportunity of a
lifetime, you are in a position to select the best and those chosen should be
keen to demonstrate that they have what it takes to be a credit to you.
Why does the island not take advantage of what it has to offer and acquire the
best? Possibly it is in someone's interest .... who knows.
New
Police not fit - yet
Overseas
Police recruits who failed their medical test will still be allowed on the beat
according to Police Commissioner Jean-Jacques Lemay.
eight
out of 21 Caribbean recruits had not passed the fitness test, Mr. Lemay said
this would not stop them taking up their duties later this month.
He
said: "They will be encouraged to get themselves physically fit but you
have to appreciate they have travelled thousands of miles from different
countries. They are probably not
familiar with our physical fitness test.."
Comment:
Oh boy, will
Bermudians really stand for the hogwash being spoon-fed them by the C.O.P?
Travelled thousands of miles – what difference does that make?
Not familiar with Bermuda fitness tests?
What happened, they failed the written test???
You must be
joking Commissioner.
You are living on a Country as close to sea-level as you are likely to
find. What
are you suggesting – they are getting used to the low-altitude?
So they passed physical tests int heir own Country – did no one think
to compare the tests or put them through a Bermuda style test before recruiting?
Face
it, the truth is, despite having the highest number of police officers per head
of population anywhere in the world, you are still desperate for manpower and
are taking anything.
UK officers are thinking twice and Bermuda is now having to look to
Canada. Hang
on, is that not where the Commissioner came from?
Good
luck.
Armed
and dangerous
Gun-toting gang members have been
roaming the streets in the recent upsurge of violence, one frightened Warwick
resident said last night.
Comment: In an island
where a catapult is an offensive weapon (I kid you not), what is going wrong?
Smith
cleared of cocaine charge
By Patrick Burgess
The Royal Gazette Ltd
An admission by a Maurice
Chevalier Smith that others may have left drugs in his mother's car led him to
be cleared of possession of more than four grams of crack cocaine with intent
to supply.
Mr. Warner called
"crucial" Smith's admission "it could have been left in my car
by other guys last night" and added the case "stands or falls"
on a conversation between him and a Police Inspector Gibbons who said that the
defendant told him at the time of the arrest that it was not his and that it
may have been left in the car by one of the guys the night before."
The twists contained 42
"rock like" pellets of 91 percent pure cocaine weighing 4.04 grams
with a reported street value of $2,100 and 0.95 grams of 97 percent pure
powder cocaine worth $250.
Comment: Coggy
(Inspector Gibbons), I do not know what is worse; you providing the get-out for
one of our well known subjects, or the Bermuda police prosecution system that is
supposed to 'support' you, permitting the case to proceed so far without considering
the evidence. I guess one could expect you to be competent - you can have
piles of evidence but the good investigator is the one who plays devil's
advocate to the extreme and can negate all defence arguments. Logically,
what will be left is a successful prosecution. I am not suggesting you
misrepresent the facts, I am saying that you have to know when to give it up (or
to progress investigations to negate the account provided).
What were you hoping - that
they'd miss this loophole, that you might get away with it or that you'd give it
a run? Is it surprising Bermuda is the target of so much drug activity
when incompetence is seen to reign? What message does this send?
You may be lucky and not find
yourself the subject of a complaint - the investigator would be bound to consider
what investigation was made to support the admission and negate the defence put
forward. I bet there is nothing. In future, expect life to be more
difficult - anyone with drugs in their car will be practicing the line "it
could have been left in my car by other guys last night".
The inquiry into how serious
crimes are investigated and prosecuted in Bermuda should have plenty to keep
themselves busy with this case, hopefully it will not remain beneath a stone
which is not overturned.
July
Jamaican
faces fourth trial
The Royal Gazette Ltd
A Jamaican man charged with
importing cocaine into Bermuda is in line to face his fourth trial for the
alleged offence, Director of Public Prosecutions Khamisi Tokunbo has confirmed.
Clifton Hopeton Morrison's jury
was unable to come to a verdict on whether he imported up to $300,000 of liquid
cocaine in rum bottles on February 6, 1999.
His lawyer Victoria Pearman
questioned the fairness of bringing the father of three from St. Ann's Parish,
Jamaica, before the courts again and expressed concern about the effect on her
client of having to face yet another trial.
"This is a case involving a
not insignificant amount of drugs."
Last July, Morrison was found
guilty of importing the drugs and sentenced to 12 years, but the conviction was
quashed when the Court of Appeal ruled that Puisne Judge Norma Wade-Miller
misdirected the jury.
Comment: strange -
whilst I do not condone the importation of drug (if that is what this man has
done), I do question the reasonableness of repeated trials. So, a Bermuda
Judge misdirected a Jury - not the first time a Court has let down the
prosecution or Bermudians. But why 'pick on' this man?
Following the 1991 conviction of
Ted Ming and others, the Court over-turned the convictions of all but Antonio
Miranda the self confessed co-coordinator of the cocaine importation gang.
Poor old Antonio - he entered a plea of 'guilty' - can't really argue with the
Court when you've 'put your hands up'. He really must have kicked himself
entering a plea of guilty. A re-trial - talked about but
nothing more ... the four Bermudians walked free - almost. One of them
subsequently admitted he was a drug dealer (in a subsequent trial concerning
another importation). Hmmm ... would the re-trial be ordered if this were
a Bermudian? Just a question ... I have no idea why Ted Ming et al were
never pursued but then, I'm unlikely to hear - did anyone really give a damn?
Until Bermuda can get its act
together in the Courts, in addition to being a laughing stock you will continue
to be the target of drug dealers who will laugh at your ability to catch and
prosecute them. Plead guilty? You must be joking! But this
extends further - co-operate with the police when you are caught (an admission
of guilt in itself), why? The current situation is undermining the entire legal
process. Does no one else see or fear this???
Let's hope Mr Dovaston's report
extends beyond the police service and examines the entire judicial system.
Children
organising dog fights for cash & drugs
The Royal Gazette Ltd
Youngsters are being paid with
drugs to arrange dog fights; children as young as eight are collecting thousands
of dollars in cash because drug barons in charge of the fights do not want to
risk getting caught.
Mr. Whited (Society for the
Prevention of Cruelty to Animals) said: "It's sickening. It's common
knowledge. Many, many juveniles are involved in this. I can't put a figure on
it. They are not only being used to collect money, but also to set up fights and
publicise them and train the dogs. Asked if children were being lured into
the world of drugs, Mr. Whited said: "Most are already involved. The drug
and dog fighting worlds run parallel.
"Most of them get paid with
drugs. They might be paid a few dollars and get a bag of weed, or whatever
Comment: How much more demoralizing
a story do you need? No protection to your children and a generating of
drug dealers / criminals in the making.
March
More
Bermudans dealing drugs
This
time a Bermuda Customs officer, Brenda
Azzarioand her local football player
boyfriend, Dennis Robinson, are
facing 20 years imprisonment in the United States having pled guilty to
exporting cocaine.
Azzario was carrying a kilo-and-a-half
of cocaine wrapped in Bermuda Customs tape
at New York's JFK Airport on route to Bermuda, Mrs. Azzario
Comment: On the other
hand, maybe the Customs Service should not be tested for taking drugs, just
handling the stuff !!!!
Bermuda
doesn't want Jamaican police officers
Former top Policeman Wayne Perinchief (now a
Government MP) said officers from the Caribbean country of Jamaica would not fit
in with the Bermuda force.
Jamaican Association president Winston Laylor
said: "It is not my style, nor is it the style of many other Jamaicans
residing in Bermuda, to adopt a bellicose and belligerent stance such as that
which is espoused by Mr. Perinchief as being typical of the Jamaican
personality."
Comment: fair point Mr
Laylor. If that's what Mr Perinchief has said is he:
bigot
noun a
person blindly and obstinately devoted to a particular set of ideas, creed or
political party, and dismissive towards others.
Racial
Discrimination (racist)
Treatment of individuals unfavourably compared
to others on the grounds of their race.
???????
And Mr Perinchief was a senior police officer - the Assistant
Commissioner of Police!!! Want to know more about him, click on the icon:

My
regards to the Jamaica Defence Force - those I met in 1989 were keen,
enthusiastic, officers, no different to the many law-enforcement officers I have
met. What other prejudices do you have Mr Perinchief - is it any wonder we
referred to the service as the 'Bermuda police Farce' (as opposed to
'force'). sadly, many of your contemporaries and
those who enabled you to climb through the ranks still remain in the
police. Frightening.
Hang-on,
who is going to make a decision about allegations an officer was smoking
cannabis?
(see February - below)
Now the
- rank and file officers were
dismayed that the case had not been dealt with swiftly.
- many officers felt they were
being undermined due to lack of action by senior Officers.
- the credibility of the Service
had plummeted since the incident.
- members of the general public
tarring all officers with the same brush, their job was becoming
increasingly difficult.
Comment: 'back him or sack
him' is the cry. Over a month to deal witht he incident? This
suggests there is no eveidence. Let's face it, you'd need the remnants of
the cigarette he was smoking to prove the case, unless the officer admits the
offence. It appears very unlikely this could be produced at this late
stage.
So who made the allegation? A
fellow officer? If so, what did he do at the time - his duty- arrest the
officer for possession and secure the evidence? I don't think so - if it
was then that officer is setting himself up to be investigated for dereliction
of duty. An allegation from the public? Made when? To
whom?
You want to stamp out the use of
narcotics by officers - drug test them, it may act as a deterent, but be
cautious, you can include narcotics in all manner of consumables ... nothing is
as easy as it appears. As for this case, come on Commissioner, make a
decision as aopposed to a fool of yourself and the service.
February
No
drug testing for Customs officers
Customs officers are not be drug
tested, other public employees will be.
The Collector of Customs Bill
Ledrew asked for consideration to be given to testing his
employees. Apparently, at present their job is not said to be "safety
sensitive."
The NDC chief executive Dr.
Derrick Binns has circulated the draft policy.
Note:
- Customs officer Betty Azzario
was arrested in New York in December in connection with a kilo of
cocaine
- Last month, Customs officer
Marva Curlita Rabain and daughter Takiya Dzieko Rabain, were charged with
possession of heroin with intent to supply.
- Last Month Arthur Bean,
Maurice Smith and Antowyn Robert Bennett, were charged with
importation and possession with intent to supply cannabis.
Comment:
a child's common question simple but effective; 'why?'
In this instance, 'why not?' appears appropriate. Create a greater divide
between Customs and the police if you wish, cause suspicion to be cast on the
integrity of Customs officers and make unnecessary complications. But
why?
On the other hand, this affords
Customs officers an opportunity to express themselves, possibly undo some of the
harm done them by colleagues (admittedly as yet not convicted). Why do
Customs Officers need directives, legislation, policy - simply volunteer to be
tested. Demonstrate a little lateral thinking and let Bermuda know that
you have nothing to hide. Just a thought.
By the way, is that Maurice Smith
of Middletown (vicinity)? The individual who, the last time I saw him had
a red Subaru? If so, who the hell vetted him for the job?
Hodgson
worries about the danger of foreigners
Foreigners blamed for a breakdown
in society says Environment Minister Arthur Hodgson. Apparently
immigration has gone too far!
Comment:
Nothing like stirring up a little anti-foreigner feeling. Clearly history
teaches some nothing. "The more people you have, the more waste"
- very astute. Of course, the more foreigners (who by the nature of their entrance)
working and earning reasonable wages, the more money spent on consumables to
swell the economy. Some simple economics Arthur: if I have a shop and I
pay my rent and utilities etc. they increase very little (if at all) whether I
sell 1 item or 10. However my profit is greater. It's a simple
concept of fixed costs.
Of course you change the culture
of the community. Some would say it becomes cosmopolitan - they are less
negative than the Minister. Where's the link between 'importing' a working
population and putting pressure on the streets? If you are letting in
people to do jobs that could be done by Bermudans then stop it, more to the
point, say so.
Has anyone actually asked the
Minister what he means by 'puts pressure on the streets'? Just think about
the comment; it's rhetoric. Actually it's worse, it appears intended to
mislead, it's nonsense that has a solution-sounding ring.
As for 'people laboring for years
to get an eight-hour work day', 10 years ago when I was on the Island a number
Bermudans I knew had two jobs to make ends meet.
Judge
throws out drugs case against Canadian woman
Puisne Judge Charles-Etta
Simmons said officers contradicted each other and sometimes their own
testimony and threw out a case against a Canadian woman accused of
conspiring to import $150,000 of cocaine. She said Police testimony on the
conspiracy charge was "tenuous and vague". Their evidence was
unsafe because the officers contradicted each other, and sometimes themselves.
Ms Madill was questioned for 3
hours at the Mazarine by the Sea guest house in Pembroke on June 28 last year
before she was taken to a Police station, read her prisoner's rights and given
access to a lawyer.
Maximchuk, 44, also of Calgary,
was imprisoned for seven and a half years last month when he pleaded guilty to
possession of the cocaine, which he swallowed in 78 capsules.
Mrs. Justice Simmons said the
Crown had provided no evidence that Madill knew anything about the drugs, so it
had not established she had possession. Ms Madill had spent seven months
in custody.
Comment: at what
point does contradiction of testimony, sufficient to cause a case of some
substance to be dismissed, amount to perjury?
Governor
to decide office's fate
A Police officer accused of
smoking cannabis on duty is set to be dismissed.
Police Association chairman
Sgt. Mike Jackman has expressed concern
over the speed with which the firing of the officer occurred saying "We
believe the Police code provides adequate provisions for disciplining officers.
He should be given due process, but this usurps due process by using an obscure
section of the Police Act."
He said the normal practice was
for a senior officer to hear the evidence and to make a recommendation to the
Commissioner. The Commissioner could then increase the penalty but the
procedure also gave the accused officer seven days to appeal the decision to the
Public Service Commission.
Mr. Jackman said by using a
little-known section of the Police Act, the officer's only route of appeal would
be to sue through the courts.
Sgt. Jackman also attacked Police
officers who had savaged the accused officer anonymously through the media.
He said: "People are implying he's guilty before the investigation has been
done...he has to be given the due process of the law."
Comment:
people will always imply guilt. I have first hand experience of the
Discipline Code and the inability or unwillingness of the service to implement
it. It appears it is the procedure which needs to be addressed, no mention
of the officer not being 'guilty' though.
Prisoners
charged with trafficking heroin
Following their attempt to
exchange heroin at the Prison Farm in St. George's in October 1999, a male and
female prisoner have appeared in Magistrate's Court.
Magistrate
Archibald Warner, set a
trial date for June 16.
January
Julian Hall - bankrupt
Top Island barrister bankrupt
(again) see Julian for full report.
Heroin
use increasing despite Police denials
Heroin use is on the rise in
Bermuda - despite Police claims to the contrary, according to drugs experts.
Ch. Insp. Larry Smith, of the
Narcotics squad, told The Royal Gazette that there was no evidence to say that
heroin had risen in popularity. However, drugs workers directly
contradicted this and confirmed that prices were plummeting - indicating that
supplies had shot up.
Dealers are now selling tiny hits
of heroin for as little as $10. the report added; "It's about supply
and demand. I am sure it's never gone below $50 before. It's the same with
cocaine."
Recent figures reveal that heroin
seizures have fallen.
Strangely the report commented:
"I don't think the Police
are really interested in which particular drug people are doing. They are just
concerned with catching them.
"Drug users aren't going to
tell the Police what they're on.
Comment: what a sorry
state of affairs. Less of the bitching please and a concerted effort to
combat the problem. Heroin is a dirty killer. The means of
administration should put most off. Cannabis and cocaine were always the
'drugs of choice', easier to take with a more sophisticated stigma.
Sure, the price of heroin may
have dropped but do not quote supply and demand (basic economic concepts) unless
you are prepared to accept both sides of the simplistic equation:
- supply up = price down (quoted
above)
- demand down = price down
It is more likely that '2' is the case. Narcotics do not respond in
accordance with usual supply and demand rules, why not? Because as a
commodity they are in a unique trading environment. Drugs dealers have the
luxury of operating in a market affected by very strong outside influences -
regulation and dependency.
Drug dealers do not drop the
price because there is a great demand. Their price can be articifially
maintained because the demand dis not affected by the usual rules - demand is
affected by dependency.
It is time to act Bermuda.
If drug prices are low there are those out there offering candy to your
'children'. They are enticing people to try - it's the 'special offer'
principle. But unlike most products, free will is compromised. Don't
like, won't buy is a possibility. Do like MUST buy is the intention.
But, by reference to the above,
dealers are not giving that great a deal; these are 'tiny hits'.
I would suggest that you should
be praising your police service if the cost of a narcotic has plummeted.
Someone is trying to lure customers.
Heroin is the worst of the three
drugs seen on the island, the users are a close community, the quantity used to
achieve a 'high' is miniscule and the profits to be made immense. Sadly,
it is starting to become increasingly popular again but of all the drugs, it is
one which could (to a great extent) be combated by fear. Most of the
heroin addicts I knew are dead, most departed unceremoniously suffering from
aliments which would have made death a welcome release; their existence was hand
to mouth, they were slave to the drug.
So,
Focus counselor Sandy Butterfield who
advises that heroin use is on the increase, do you have an alternative
agenda? Is this your opportunity to make a statement, receive your
15 minutes of fame? Possibly you should reconsider your position and ask yourself
some soul searching questions. You appear to be part of the problem, not
the solution.
I
have no love for the police but I have every respect for Bermudans. You
appear to be taking cheap shots. Sadly, here will be those who take your comments
at face value - I would suggest your only appeal is to the 'sheep' - followers
with no mind of their own. If belief is placed in your statements then Bermuda
is doomed. I ask you to reconsider your comments and accept that they are
flawed before irreparable damage is caused.
With regard to
"Drug users aren't going to
tell the Police what they're on.
this is a naive comment. Do
you really think we do not know which drug someone has been taking? The paraphernalia
seized, the condition of the subject and their confession (they tell us alright)
is more than enough. Drug users will always tell us what they are on - it
helps to prevent their death int he case of complications but more importantly;
they don't give a damn.
Ask youself a question; how do
the police come across drug users?
Answer: they arrest them.
To arrest you require a power,
generally possession of the drug or equipment - both are none too subtle clues
about the drug used. If they are under the influence I can assure you, it
takes little to ascertain what they have taken; you only need ask some really
obscure questions for them to volunteer everything.
As for:
"I don't think the Police
are really interested in which particular drug people are doing. They are just
concerned with catching them.
I trust this is praise, it
appears to be derogatory. Bermuda is awash with drugs. I suspect they have
no time to 'specialise' in a drug and are happy to receive whatever information
they can to prevent the spread. I think you will find they are only
capable of 'catching them'. The problem is infiltrating the suppliers.
You will appreciate that I am,
for a change, rather impressed with Bermuda's situation but I am fearful the
facts are being misrepresented.
Living
the high life of a drugs dealer
hopefully the link below will
work:
http://www.accessbda.bm/01/01010102.htm#10008S
15
years imprisonment
" career thief and drug
addict" sentenced to a 15 year prison term for the attempted murder
of a schoolteacher, Dafydd Hermann-Smith who he stabbed twice in the chest after
breaking into his home. Puisne Judge Charles-Etta Simmons called David
Anthony Eugene Dill a "desperately vicious, morally corrupt and dangerous
person"
Dill had eight pages of previous
convictions; breaking and entering, drug possession and motorcycle
thefts,
Comment: the defence are
to appeal. Really? Okay, so the junkie did not take a knife into the
house, he simply used one that he found so the assault was not premeditated.
BUT, he took the time to locate a knife and used it - not just as a
threat. He stabbed his victim more than once and mention was been made of
his making a calm get-away. Was this school teacher victim such a threat
that Mr. Dill needed to 'protect himself' or ensure escape by risking (and it is
important to think about what one must anticipate by taking a knife to another
human being) killing someone. And for what? The chances of being
caught ofr house-breaking are reasonable but not guaranteed, especially if one
runs like mad! So what is the point in stabbing someone? To ensure
escape - that would mean an intention to
The School teacher should have
died by Mr Dill's hand. His actions are no different to those of a police
officer armed with a gun; if we shoot every bullet should be considered a
killer. Our situation differs in that we are rational, calculating and in
control. The public needs to be protected from those whose faculties are
not consistent with the reasonable standards we expect of the norm.
Time to face the truth - Mr Dill
needs protecting from himself; whilst a repentant person, clearly he has serious
anti-social problems and iof only to ensure he is no longer led into temptation
and his conscious is protected, it is best he be kept in a secure unit. As
for Bermudans, hopefully they can sleep a little safer in the knowledge Mr dill
is not about and that his like will think twice about breaking into their homes
and never think about using violence.
To the judge;
congratulations. The sentence appear to fit the crime. To the
defence; do nto forget your client's sentence can be increased at appeal - let's
hope the decision is to impose a minimum term of incarceration prior to release;
15 years sounds appropriate.
Cocaine Importer:
William Maximchuk, a Canadian, is to be sentenced
after smuggling, in June 1998, $150,000 of cocaine into Bermuda. He admitted
the offence. Paula Madill, also of Calgary, denies possession
of a controlled drug with intent to supply.
Comment: another fraction of the
substance is seized for a person wishing to profit from Bermuda's status as
probably 'the most expensive place in the world to buy cocaine'
Former police officer accused of manslaughter:
Tony Bukhari, a former Policeman, faces allegations concerning the death of
Liz Cadell (former sub editor for The Royal Gazette).
Comment: another case in with which I
have seen Sergeant Carlton 'socky' Adams ( you
haven't really made him Chief Inspector have you - the police service must be seriously
short of manpower) name associated. Let's hope he is not involved or,
given his track record as a malicious incompetent,
the trial will be a farce and no one will receive justice.
Another manslaughter charge:
Bissoonduthsing Ramchurn, of St. George's, faces a manslaughter charge in
relation to the death of German student Catrin Schaefer in summer 1999.
Comment: so small an Island, so much
death
Police recruits
Police can recruit overseas but a crisis could befall the service when 50
officers are due to retire this summer. Police Commissioner Jean-Jacques
Lemay ( e-mail: lemayjj@ibl.bm ) is
understood to have said that the police are seeking experienced overseas male
officers. Apparently, criminals were exploiting the manpower shortage.
Paula Cox is reported to have said:
if the Commissioner had made such an unqualified
statement it was "extraordinary" and "discourteous to
Government".
The Commissioner is reported as saying:
"We want someone with at least five years' experience, males only. We have
a number of females who continue to arrive on our doorstep asking to join the
Police force. We need experienced Police officers to train our Police officers
to do Police work."
Comment: No you don't, you want 'yes
men'. You do not want free thinking, competent staff with
experience. Some of your sergeants and above require malleable men and
individuals who they can persecute for the most trivial of alleged discipline
matters. You require bodies on whom those ear-marked for senior positions
can tread; fresh blood, people who, due to being in a foreign environment, far
from home with little support, can be bullied and victimised.
Soaring Crime Rates:
Shadow Home Affairs Minister Michael Dunkley is said to have
described the
situation pertaining to mass resignations as " chilling in light of soaring
crime rates revealed last week"
On top of this Paula Cox has refused to rule out cuts to the Police
budget
Premier
Jennifer Smith is reported (by the Royal Gazette) as saying foreign recruits weren't a panacea,
the Government hoped to encourage former Policemen to rejoin. However an
earlier attempt to attract former officers failed.
Mention has also been made of the pension
scheme; the situation whereby at 8 years an officer has to decide to stay for a
further 17 years (locking in their pension contributions) or leaving and having
their pension contributions returned.
Comment: and what of those who do leave
at, or before, the 8 year point? Sure, their contributions are
returned BUT Bermuda are supposed to contribute a like amount (the same
as our contributions) to the pension scheme. This money should also be
made avaliable to a retiring officer when they leave, albeit transferred into a
UK ? Carribean pension scheme. You just try to get your money - no one I
know of to date has been successful in having this contribution received.
Murder of Glen Calvin Wolffe
In addition to refusing (7 weeks after the
incident) to say if they are making progress in the murder of Glen Calvin Wolffe,
other than say a weapon was involved, they won't say how he died.
It is possibly of note Ch. Insp. Carlton
Adams is heading the enquiry.
Comment: Will Bermuda never learn
http://www.customs.ustreas.gov/hot-new/pressrel/2000/0114-01.htm
FOR
IMMEDIATE RELEASE Friday, January 14th, 2000
BERMUDA
CUSTOMS OFFICER AND PRO-SOCCER PLAYER BOYFRIEND ARRESTED AND INDICTED ON COCAINE
CHARGES
New York, NY - Two individuals
who were arrested by U.S. Customs Inspectors at JFK Airport in December were
indicted on January 13, 2000 in the U.S. Federal Court, Eastern District of New
York (Brooklyn), for conspiring to export approximately four (4) pounds of
cocaine to Bermuda from JFK International Airport.
On December 21, 1999, based on
information provided by the Drug Enforcement Administration, Customs Inspectors
at JFK Airport conducted an outbound examination of Betty Azzario, a 34 year-old
citizen of Bermuda, who was scheduled to depart aboard American Airlines flight
#1444 to Bermuda.
Upon examination, Customs
Inspectors discovered approximately 1,841 grams of cocaine secreted in
Azzario’s checked-in baggage and wrapped in official “Bermuda Customs”
tape. Azzario stated that the bag was hers, that she is a Bermuda Customs
Officer, and she displayed her Customs badge.
Customs Special Agents, along
with DEA Special Agents, arrested Ms. Azzario for exportation of cocaine (21USC
953).
Azzario subsequently admitted to
transporting the narcotics for her boyfriend, Dennis Robinson, a 29 year-old
Bermuda citizen, who was also in New York and staying in a Manhattan hotel. On
December 22, 1999, Mr. Robinson was arrested after making arrangements with Ms.
Azzario and subsequently meeting her in the Hotel lobby. Upon conducting a
warranted search of his hotel room, agents seized various records and personal
effects owned by Mr. Robinson. Customs Agents have since learned that Mr.
Robinson is a current member of the Bermudian National Football (soccer) team.
The U.S. Attorney’s Office ,
Eastern District of New York, is prosecuting this case. The defendents have been
charged with conspiracy to export cocaine, and possession of cocaine with intent
to distribute. If convicted on all charges, the defendants face up to 40 years
imprisonment.
The investigation is continuing. |