This afternoon, a full two weeks after they were first arraigned, Chief Magistrate Herbert Lord finally began hearing the substantive case for extradition against one of the Brown brothers - Andrew 'Pawpa' Brown. But the big news of the day came this morning when lead attorney for the Brown brothers Dean Barrow apparently gave up the claim of a false identification and told the court that Floyd Brown is indeed widely known in Belize as "Joswant Brown". It came as a quite surprising concession from the defense which had argued that the Joswant Brown sought by the U.S. is not the Floyd Brown who was picked up in Belize.
Barrow made that concession as he threw in another wrench: requesting that the Chief Magistrate to hear the extradition requests for the brothers jointly. His argument was that the brothers were indicted jointly for drug crimes in the United States and so the evidence against them should be presented jointly. Barrow added that this would prevent the government from "getting two bites at the cherry" and it would also ensure that both defendants are treated fairly. Solicitor General Elson Kaseke's reply was that the brown brothers were requested separately and the so the requests must be handled individually.
This afternoon Chief Magistrate Lord ruled that even if he were to hear the evidence against Andrew and Floyd brown jointly, he would still have to make a separate decision on whether to extradite each individual. So in the interest of justice, Lord ruled he will hear the cases separately.
The extradition case against Andrew "Pawpa" Brown was the first to proceed and the first witness was Priscilla Banner from the Attorney General's Ministry. She basically verified that she received the extradition requests for the Brown brothers from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The Sol Gen continued by reading off 9 exhibits against "Pawpa" Brown including the indictment and the warrant from December 2003, an affidavit from a forensic chemist, and an affidavit from Assistant Superintendent of Police Chester Williams identifying "Pawpa" Brown. Defense Counsel Barrow has already indicated to the court that he will contest Williams' identification and that is where the case will pick up again tomorrow morning.
The Brown brothers are wanted in the U.S. for the importation of cocaine into the U.S., aiding and abetting the importation of cocaine, possession with intent to distribute cocaine in the U.S., and aiding and abetting the possession of cocaine with the intent to distribute in the U.S. This is all in relation to 18.1 kilograms of cocaine found on the M.D. August ship which docked in Miami's Port Everglades Harbor on November 4th, 1999.
Related Stories
. Uncle Sam Wants "Pawpa" Brown
. Is Floyd Brown, Joswant Brown?
