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Judge halts trial of businessmen accused of money laundering, drug trafficking

Supreme Court judge Courtney Day on Friday granted a stay, halting the trial of four St. James businessmen accused of money laundering and international drug trafficking.
 
Following submissions Friday morning from attorney Hugh Wildman, Justice Day granted the stay pending the outcome of an application for leave for judicial review by the legal team representing the men.
 
Mr. Wildman claimed the men were being tried under the Money Laundering Act which was repealed in 2007, therefore the trial is a nullity and the men should be released.
 
However, in granting the stay, the judge ruled that the prosecution be allowed to take the testimony of a key prosecution witness via video link from a prison in the United States.
  
The witness, who is now serving 27 years in a US prison, is a former associate of the four men on trial.
 
The men - 57 year old building contractor Robert Dunbar, 50 year old Delroy Gayle, 45 year old businessman Louis Smith and Melford Daley - were charged by the Major Organised Crime and Anti-corruption agency (MOCA) and the Financial Investigation Division (FID) in 2013.
 
Prosecutors accused the men of being involved in money laundering and drug trafficking between Jamaica and the US.
 


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