TORTOLA, British Virgin Islands, Sept. 13, CMC – Five men charged in connection with a major cocaine seizure in British Virgin Islands waters have been freed after a magistrate upheld a no-case submission and dismissed the charges against them.
Senior Magistrate Tamia Richards cleared Cesar Diaz Abrahim and Ronald James of Trinidad and Tobago; Joel Santana Santos and Francisco Mejia Ortiz of the Dominican Republic; and Candido Rois Quezada of St Kitts and Nevis.
They had been charged with importation of a controlled drug and possession of a controlled drug with intent to supply.
The five were among six people arrested after police intercepted the cargo vessel C Elizabeth II near Virgin Gorda in December 2025.
Their trial began in May, with the five pleading not guilty. The sixth accused, the vessel’s captain, entered a separate plea.
Police witnesses told the court that officers approached the vessel during the early hours of December 9 after spotting it at sea and saw several people moving quickly on deck and throwing packages overboard.
Police later recovered 32 bags from the sea. Six people were found aboard the vessel when it was taken to Port Purcell, while three additional bricks of suspected cocaine were reportedly discovered on board.
However, defence attorney E. Leroy Jones argued that prosecutors had failed to prove that his clients knew about or exercised control over the drugs.
The defence also challenged the identification evidence, questioning whether officers could reliably identify any of the five men as the people seen throwing packages from the vessel, given the distance, lighting conditions and difference in height between the cargo ship and the police boat.
During cross-examination, one police witness acknowledged that while he saw more than three people throwing items overboard, he could not identify which individuals were responsible.
Richards subsequently upheld the defence’s no-case submission, bringing the proceedings against the five men to an end.
CMC/bv/kb/2026