By Alicia Cruz
The Black Urban Times
The U.S. Attorney's Office for the Southern District of New York confirmed for the Black Urban Times today that former Jamaican drug kingpin Christopher "Dudus" Coke will be arraigned at 2:00 p.m. at the Pearl Street Manhattan Federal Courthouse, room 24A before Judge Robert Patterson.
Coke's arraignment on weapons and narcotics charges follows a month-long islandwide manhunt by Jamaican officials that sparked a bloody street battle in the Jamaican neighborhood of Tivoli that left 76 people, mostly civilian, dead.
The 41-year-old was taken into custody in Jamaica while en route to the U.S. embassy to turn himself over for extradition to the United States. Coke, reported to be the son of accused drug lord Lester Lloyd who died in a mysterious prison fire while awaiting an extradition trial, arrived at the Westchester County Airport in New York around 7:00 p.m. Thursday flanked by agents of the Drug Enforcement Administration.
According to the August 2009 U.S. federal indictment, Coke stands accused of heading an "international criminal organization known as the 'Shower Posse,' with members in Jamaica, the United States, and other countries since the early
1990s."
Prosecutors alleged that Coke and his co-conspirators facilitated and benefited from the sale of narcotics (Crack-Cocaine and Marijuana) and armed members of their gang with illegally trafficked firearms, which were said to have been found during a recent search of Tivoli Gardens.
Prosecutors say Coke used female drug mules, one who is now a cooperating witness for federal authorities, to transport narcotics into U.S. cities for more than two decades. In a federal affidavit, the witness allegedly told federal agents that women who travelled to New York to buy clothes to sell back in Jamaica, were ordered by "the President" (Coke) to carry cocaine hidden inside their bodies into the U.S.
(Louis Lanzano/AP Photo)
The affidavit went on to say that "If the girls refused to do so, then their businesses would be threatened and the clothing they sell and the money that they earn will be stolen," according to the witness.
Agents from the DEA's New York Field Division collaborated with law enforcement agents, both domestically and internationally, over the past three years in order to build the prosecutors case against Coke.
If convicted on the narcotics charges, Coke faces a
maximum sentence of life in prison or a mandatory minimum
sentence of 10 years in prison, as well as a fine of up to $4
million or twice the pecuniary gain from the charges. He also
faces a maximum sentence of five years in prison on the firearms trafficking charge, and a fine of up to $250,00 or twice the pecuniary gain.
Copy of U.S. Attorney's Office of the Southern District Press Release
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The Black Urban Times
The U.S. Attorney's Office for the Southern District of New York confirmed for the Black Urban Times today that former Jamaican drug kingpin Christopher "Dudus" Coke will be arraigned at 2:00 p.m. at the Pearl Street Manhattan Federal Courthouse, room 24A before Judge Robert Patterson.
Coke's arraignment on weapons and narcotics charges follows a month-long islandwide manhunt by Jamaican officials that sparked a bloody street battle in the Jamaican neighborhood of Tivoli that left 76 people, mostly civilian, dead.
The 41-year-old was taken into custody in Jamaica while en route to the U.S. embassy to turn himself over for extradition to the United States. Coke, reported to be the son of accused drug lord Lester Lloyd who died in a mysterious prison fire while awaiting an extradition trial, arrived at the Westchester County Airport in New York around 7:00 p.m. Thursday flanked by agents of the Drug Enforcement Administration.
According to the August 2009 U.S. federal indictment, Coke stands accused of heading an "international criminal organization known as the 'Shower Posse,' with members in Jamaica, the United States, and other countries since the early
1990s."
Prosecutors alleged that Coke and his co-conspirators facilitated and benefited from the sale of narcotics (Crack-Cocaine and Marijuana) and armed members of their gang with illegally trafficked firearms, which were said to have been found during a recent search of Tivoli Gardens.
Prosecutors say Coke used female drug mules, one who is now a cooperating witness for federal authorities, to transport narcotics into U.S. cities for more than two decades. In a federal affidavit, the witness allegedly told federal agents that women who travelled to New York to buy clothes to sell back in Jamaica, were ordered by "the President" (Coke) to carry cocaine hidden inside their bodies into the U.S.
(Louis Lanzano/AP Photo)The affidavit went on to say that "If the girls refused to do so, then their businesses would be threatened and the clothing they sell and the money that they earn will be stolen," according to the witness.
Agents from the DEA's New York Field Division collaborated with law enforcement agents, both domestically and internationally, over the past three years in order to build the prosecutors case against Coke.
If convicted on the narcotics charges, Coke faces a
maximum sentence of life in prison or a mandatory minimum
sentence of 10 years in prison, as well as a fine of up to $4
million or twice the pecuniary gain from the charges. He also
faces a maximum sentence of five years in prison on the firearms trafficking charge, and a fine of up to $250,00 or twice the pecuniary gain.
Copy of U.S. Attorney's Office of the Southern District Press Release
Related Articles
Christopher Coke a Wanted Man
Coke in Custody
Jamaican police mandate three-day...
Jamaican police ask Reverend Al Miller to turn himself in
Media Outlets must credit
The Black Urban Times
www.theblackurbantimes.com
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