Posted on 06/24/2010 3:21:23 PM PDT by nickcarraway
The once powerful Jamaican gang leader Christopher "Dudus" Coke was extradited to the US tonight immediately after a court hearing at which he expressed regret for the fighting that claimed scores of lives last month as he evaded capture.
Coke was flown to the US to face trial for alleged drug and weapons trafficking. He faces a life sentence if convicted.
The leader of the Shower Posse gang, who the US authorities allege is the head of a crime network that extends from Jamaica to Europe and North America, said he was deeply saddened by the more than 75 lives lost in the fighting, mostly in his Kingston stronghold of Tivoli Gardens, sparked by the attempt to arrest and extradite him.
"I take this decision for I believe it to be in the best interest of my family, the community of western Kingston and, in particular,the people of Tivoli Gardens and above all Jamaica," he said. He said he expected to be acquitted in the US and to return to Jamaica.
Hours before his extradition, the Jamaican authorities seized Coke's identifiable assets and froze his bank accounts.
Police arrested Coke as he was on his way to the US embassy earlier this week. He had apparently planned to hand himself over to the Americans out of concern for his safety. His father died in mysterious circumstances in prison in 1992, in what many Jamaicans believe was a murder to stop him talking about ties between criminal gangs and politicians.
The authorities continue to be concerned about a violent backlash. The extradition hearing was held at a military outpost and a state of emergency and curfew is still in place in the capital.
(Excerpt) Read more at guardian.co.uk ...
Wow, a drug dealer named “Coke”! Reminds me of the Seinfeld episode where the library cop is Bookman.
You're just robbing'
And you're stabbin'
And you're lootin'
And you're shooting'
Now you're too bad.
>>>Wow, a drug dealer named “Cokeâ€! Reminds me of the Seinfeld episode where the library cop is Bookman.<<<
Yep, as Kramer put it, “That’s like an ice cream man named Cone!”
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