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by pltm
(PLTM) - Leshaughn Smith, who is charged with the importation of a controlled drug, made an appearance in the Magistrate’s Court today, September 1st. The charge stems from an incident on February 24th 2015 where a package was received by Ezone in the BVI and said to contain a stereo. As a result of an inspection by the postal service, they discovered the contents to be that of a decoy radio, which supposedly concealed a number of packages wrapped in carbon paper and taped. The contents were identified as cannabis, amounting to a weight of 1.4 kilos. Today, Detective Constable Richard Francis of the Royal Virgin Islands Police Force appeared in court to give testimony in the matter. During examination conducted by Crown Counsel Herbert Potter, Officer Richards disclosed that he was present during the interview conducted with the accused after his arrest. He stated that the accused explained that while vacationing in Miami in early February 2015, he purchased a stereo from Walmart and shipped it via a postal service in Miami to an Ezone account in the BVI, belonging to his girlfriend and her sister. The officer noted that smith said upon purchasing the package at Walmart, it was opened, checked and resealed by the cashier, without him having a look of what was actually in the box. The officer recalled Smith noting that his girlfriend had issues retrieving the package from Ezone, due to some difficulties with an email, to which he advised her on what to do and the package was then cleared. The court heard that Smith had already returned to the Territory from his vacation by this time. While transporting the package to his home, Smith told the officers that he realized the package felt extremely light. He added that upon opening the package at his home, the contents fell apart. The officer stated that the accused was shown a photo of the exterior of the stereo, in addition to its interior, showing the contents that were hidden, to which Smith stated that it doesn’t belong to him, but it looked similar to one that he has at home. Smith told the officers that he had no knowledge about the decoy stereo or its contents. In a previous court appearance where Senior Prosecutor Leslie Ann Faulkner represented the crown, the details of the matter outlined that around 5:30 pm on February 24, Ezone received packages, one of which was in the name of the defendant as the sender from the U.S., and it was to be received in the name of his girlfriend. Faulkner said while Ezone employees were checking the packages, something appeared suspicious about Smith's package and they immediately called in the police. The box contained a stereo/radio. The cops closely inspected the box and its contents, where they realized that it was a fake/dummy stereo as the buttons were not functional and inside was hollow. Officers looked inside the radio from the back where they observed a number of packages wrapped in carbon paper and taped. The items also smelled like marijuana. Faulkner said after removing the items, it was later seen that the packages were that of cannabis. The officers took photographs and video of the operation and the items. The officers then took the wrapped packages with them and closed up the radio to allow for the recipient to collect the item. On March 3, due to Smith's girlfriend being ill, her sister went with Smith to Ezone to clear the package. The sister collected the package and handed it to him. Officers then executed a search warrant at Smith's Long Look residence and there they informed him about their suspicions and he indicated that he had nothing to say. During the search, empty dime bags, two boxes of cigarette paper and a scale with marijuana residue were found. Also, the toilet seat had marijuana residue. Smith was then arrested. According to Faulkner, during the police cautioned interview, Smith admitted that he went to Florida where he bought a stereo from Walmart and had it sent to the Ezone location in the BVI. He told officers that upon examining the stereo, he observed that it was tampered with. Smith was previously granted bail in the amount of $80,000, of which $10,000 is to be cash. He also had to report to the police station three days per week and surrender his travel documents. Smith is represented by Mrs. Valerie Stephens-Gordon. He is scheduled to make another appearance on September 21st 2015.
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