A Jamaican national who was designated as a foreign narcotics kingpin by President Bush in 2004, on Wednesday pleaded guilty to charges of smuggling drugs into the U.S.
Norris Nembhard, known as “Dido,” 53; was among five Jamaican nationals who entered the guilty plead in the Operation Panama Express investigative case.
Nembhard admitted guilt along with Robroy Williams, nicknamed “Spy,” 51; Glenford Williams, also known as “Toe,” 55; Vivian Dalley, nicknamed “Jungo,” 49; and Herbert Henry, known as “Scary,” 46. Their plea came some five months following their extradition to the U.S. on drug smuggling charges.
The five pleaded guilty to charges of conspiracy to import more than five kilograms of cocaine and more than 1,000 kilograms of marijuana into the U.S., prosecutors say.
Williams also pleaded guilty to conspiring to possess with intent to distribute more than five kilograms of cocaine while aboard a vessel subject to the jurisdiction of the U.S., prosecutors say.
According to court documents, Jamaica serves as a shipment point for cocaine from Colombia to the U.S. Williams and Nembhard made deals to accept delivery in Jamaica of cocaine shipments of between 600 and 1,000 kilograms, prosecutors say.
The cocaine was delivered by go-fast vessels, and small quantities from these shipments were sold in Jamaica with larger quantities going to the U.S. by air or sea, often through the Bahamas, prosecutors say.
In Jamaica, the cocaine, along with large amounts of marijuana and hash oil, was stored in rural safe houses controlled by Williams and maintained by co-defendants Glenford Williams and Ivan Kenneth Huggins, who were sentenced in 2006.
The go-fast boats landed at various Jamaican beaches, including Negril and Montego Bay, investigators say. Robroy Williams and Nembhard paid members of the Jamaican Constabulary Force, including co-defendant Herbert Henry, to provide security and transportation of the cocaine, prosecutors say.
Couriers and money changers, including Dalley, returned the money made from the sale of cocaine to Colombia, prosecutors say.
Source: CaribWorldNews.com
