A 28-year-old man from St Philip has been remanded in custody until mid-October after a court set a six-figure bail amount in a high-value drug importation case, where the seized controlled substances are estimated to be worth more than $1 million total.
Ché Devonte Alleyne, a resident of Duncans Circle in Windward Gardens, made his first court appearance this week facing a total of eight indictable charges linked to the September 17 importation of cocaine and cannabis. Under local court procedure for serious indictable offenses, Alleyne was not required to enter formal pleas to the charges. These include four separate counts of possession, possession with intent to supply, trafficking, and unlawful importation for 3.3 kilograms of cocaine, plus an identical set of four charges connected to 135.5 kilograms of cannabis seized the same day.
Authorities have assessed the street value of the seized cocaine at approximately $165,000, while the large cache of cannabis is valued at $867,200, pushing the combined total value of the illicit drugs to just over $1 million.
During the bail hearing at the No. 2 District ‘A’ Magistrates’ Court, lead prosecutor Sergeant Kenmore Philips did not oppose the defense’s request for bail, but formally requested that the court impose strict, stringent conditions on Alleyne should he be released. Alleyne’s defense counsel, Attorney Lesley Cargil-Straker, told the court that her client was fully prepared to abide by any conditions set by the magistrate ahead of his next court date.
After considering the arguments from both sides, the magistrate set bail at a total of $230,000. However, the case took an unexpected turn when no eligible surety was able to provide the full bail amount required to secure Alleyne’s temporary release. As a result, the court ordered that Alleyne remain in remand custody until his next scheduled hearing on October 19.