Last week we told you about Cyril Loague, the former cop supposedly turned car salesman – who was allegedly caught with 30.5 pounds of cocaine coming off a farm on the Hummingbird Highway. That has a wholesale value of US$325,000 and it was allegedly found in a bucket in the back of his Isuzu Trooper. That’s big news on its own but it was blown up much bigger after it emerged that he was coming off Dyon Zabaneh’s farm and that he wasn’t a car salesman but an employee of Mike Feinstein’s Fort Point Security. Big names caught up in a much bigger game and Loague and the Guatemalan he was with, Henry Quinteros were charged for drug trafficking and remanded to prison.
That was 12 days ago but as of Wednesday, Loague was set free from prison – he says he’s cleared of charges. But his name is far from clear and today in an explosive interview – he told us that he was simply the victim of a setup orchestrated at high levels.
Cyril Loague, Accused Drug Trafficker
“I believe what really happened is I was set up by a well known businessman in Dangriga who controls a major part of the Police Department and the whole operation was just to embarrass two of my friends that I am with. The suspected drugs was not found in my vehicle. They found me coming out of the farm, they searched my vehicle thoroughly, took me back into the farm, went in another person’s farm that is adjacent to the farm that we were and came out with a bucket. The police officers came out with a bucket. They took me and my friends and said this is what we found at the other farm. And I told them come on, how could say that is ours, we are here hanging out. I am not a drug trafficker and this is a personal thing from a certain senior officer in the Police Department. And I know after this I will have constant harassment from him but I don’t care. I need to come to the media and clear my name because I am not a drug trafficker. I work hard.”
Jules Vasquez,
The police report said cocaine was found in your vehicle, a Trooper. You’re saying that is not accurate?
Cyril Loague,
“That is not true, that is not true. They went into an other farm. They did not find that even on the farm that we were in. They were into another farm, took out that bucket. How did the police know that bucket was there?”
Jules Vasquez,
But who has 30 pounds of cocaine, 13 kilos, who has that amount of cocaine lying around that they could just say bring it over and plant it on Loague? That is a huge, that’s half a million dollars almost. That’s quarter million U.S. dollars.
Cyril Loague,
“Jules well that’s for the policeman and the well known businessman that set us up to explain that, to really explain that because up to now I don’t even know what is there. All I know is I was remanded to Hattieville and the Wednesday before Labor Day, about 4:30 the prison guards came and told me I am free to go. That is all I know, that is all I know up to now. I need to go and speak to my lawyer and see what took place, what did happen.”
Jules Vasquez,
So you didn’t appear in court or anything?
Cyril Loague,
“No I didn’t appear in court.”
A few points. First the Commissioner of Police Gerald Westby told us that as far as he knows the charges have not been dropped. Independently, we were unable to find out court details but that is because Loague came to our studio just before 5:00 pm. Second, the Commissioner completely rejects the claims of corruption made by Loague. He says he was legitimately intercepted with the drugs based on solid information gathered by Special Branch.
