By KEILE CAMPBELL

Tribune Staff Reporter

kcampbell@tribunemedia.net

NATIONAL Security Minister Wayne Munroe said the Bahamian government has received no extradition request in connection with a sweeping United States cocaine trafficking case that names several Bahamian law enforcement figures, leaving unanswered questions about whether US prosecutors intend to pursue them through the courts.

Mr Munroe said a valid request would immediately trigger a defined legal process in The Bahamas, including court involvement.

“If that happens, it would generate an authority to proceed from a magistrate, who would then issue a provisional warrant,” he said, adding that he is not aware of that process having occurred.

He said the absence of an extradition request could point to several different scenarios.

“The prosecutorial authorities in the US could determine not to seek the extradition of the additional parties in the indictment,” he said. “It could mean they sent the papers to the Department of Justice, who determined that they didn’t justify or meet the test for extradition. Or it could mean the request is still in process.”

Chief Superintendent Elvis Nathaniel Curtis was among those named in the indictment. Others already before US courts include former Royal Bahamas Defence Force Chief Petty Officer Darrin Alexander Roker, who has since pleaded guilty, and William Simeon, who is listed under multiple aliases. Two Colombians, Lorielmo Steele-Pomare and Luis Fernando Orozco-Toro, were also charged.

However, there is no public record showing that several other Bahamians named in the indictment have appeared before a US court, and Bahamian officials have repeatedly said they are unaware of any extradition requests related to them.

Those include Sergeant Prince Albert Symonette, Ricardo Adolphus Davis, Theodore Nathaniel Adderley, Joshua McDonald Scavella, Davon Revion Khaim Rolle, Darren Arthur Ferguson, Domonick Delancy and Donald Frederick Ferguson II.