Owen Alfred, Oswin Moore, Dexter Thomas,

Owen Alfred, Oswin Moore, and Dexter Thomas, all 39 years old, were arrested on Sunday afternoon in Tobago by members of the Organised Crime, Narcotics and Firearms Bureau. They were flown to Trinidad aboard a helicopter operated by the Special Anti-Crime Unit and detained in Port-of-Spain.
Yesterday, they appeared before Chief Magistrate Sherman Mc Nicolls in the Port-of-Spain Eighth Magistrates’ Court.
It is alleged that between June 2002 and July 2005, the trio conspired with United Kingdom- based conspirators to import cocaine into the United Kingdom (UK) from the Caribbean.
Attorneys David West and Sunita Harrikissoon represented the UK Government. Ken Wright appeared for Alfred, while Vashist Maharaj represented Thomas.
The three applied for bail. Wright said Alfred, a tour operator, permanently resides in Tobago and is not considered a flight risk. Moore, a taxi driver, lives at Patience Hill and said it was his first time in a court. Thomas, a father of seven, is a PH driver who said he had two convictions 16 years ago. In objecting to bail, West read out a summary of the facts to the court.
West said it was alleged that the three fugitives conspired with at least ten others to import large quantities of cocaine into the UK from the Caribbean. He said the conspirators used couriers to transport the cocaine. The drugs, he said, were swallowed, hidden about the body or packed into luggage areas.
West said 21 of the couriers were intercepted by officials at their point of departure in the Caribbean or by British officials on arrival at Gatwick, Heathrow or Manchester airports. The prosecutor said more than 13 kilos were seized, but it was estimated that the conspiracy may have successfully imported up to 140 kilos into the UK. West contended that the UK-based conspirators forwarded money to the three fugitives and their associates in Tobago and Grenada. He said the funds were required for the purchase of the drugs and the payment of the couriers.
He said the conspirators assisted their Caribbean counterparts in ensuring the safe entry of the couriers into the UK. “They booked flights, provided documentation to assist in their passage through immigration and met successful couriers at the airport to take possession of the drugs,” West added. West confirmed that in June and July 2006, ten of the conspirators in the UK were convicted and sentenced to prison terms of between six to 22 years. Another 11 are awaiting trial for conspiracy to import cocaine into the UK. West said the three wanted Tobago men played significant roles in the conspiracy operating in the Caribbean. Although two of the men said they had no previous convictions or pending matters, West disputed this. As a result, the court gave West time to verify the accuracy of the wanted men’s antecedents.