Suspect O.C.O. being escorted into the Courthouse. (File photo)
PHILIPSBURG--A 45-year-old man who was caught at the airport of St. Eustatius with US $6,565 in his pocket was dismissed from prosecution, the Joint Court of Justice announced on Tuesday.
The Court of First Instance had acquitted the man, who claimed to be gold miner, of all charges and had ordered the return of the money on July 18, 2018, but the Prosecutor’s Office had filed an appeal. However, also on appeal the case did not end in the Prosecution’s favour.
The Solicitor-General said during the appeal hearing that he agreed with the lesser Court judge and with the defence that defendant O.C.O. should be acquitted of the first charge, which entailed that he allegedly had laundered $3,000 in Statia.
In the Prosecutor’s Office’s opinion, the man had obtained the money through involvement in the drug trade, but the suspect had stated that he was a registered gold miner and had been travelling between Suriname and Statia because the gold price is higher in the Caribbean than in his home country.
O. was accused of laundering $3,000 on February 20, 2017, and $6,565 on April 6, 2017. The Joint Court agreed with the Prosecution and with defence lawyer Ellen Knoppel that the defendant should be acquitted of the first charge.
However, the Appeals Court found it proven that O. had committed money laundering in April 2017. The Court stated that when the suspect entered Statia on March 29, 2017, he had $900 in cash with him. On the day of his departure he was carrying $6,565.
The Court said the suspect had failed to provide a reliable explanation for this increase in cash money, whereas it is “common knowledge” that large amounts of cash are involved in the “lucrative” transport of illicit drugs.
Investigations of the defendant’s phone had revealed telephone conversations and text messages about drugs, as well as photographs of “bolitas” which are ingested and smuggled inside a person’s stomach. “In the suspect’s suitcase a pair of trousers were found with human excrement,” the Court added.
The suspect from Suriname had visited Statia no fewer than 12 times between January 14, 2016, and April 6, 2017, but had failed to provide a “plausible explanation” for his frequent trips to the island, the Court said.
In the Netherlands, O. was sentenced for drug-related crimes in 1993, 1997, 2005 and in 2006. In St. Maarten he was sentenced to 24 months, 14 of which were suspended, on December 20, 2017.
The Joint Court stated in its verdict that the defendant was guilty of acquiring or ownership of criminal money. He was acquitted of the other charges.
However, settled case law states that if a suspect has not carried out acts aimed at hiding or concealing the criminal origin of the money, these acts cannot be classified as money laundering. Therefore, the suspect was dismissed from prosecution and the Court ordered to return the seized money.
