Charges against a Canadian national caught with 67 pounds of cannabis at V.C. Bird International Airport have been withdrawn by the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP). According to Antigua.news, medical reasons were cited as the sole basis for the decision.
The court questioned the prosecution's reasoning during proceedings. Police prosecutors informed the bench that the DPP had issued instructions for the matter to be withdrawn, offering only medical reasons as justification.
Forty-eight-year-old Roselynee Crisostomo had been facing a series of serious charges, including possession of cannabis, possession with intent to transfer, being concerned in the supply of cannabis, drug trafficking, and importation of cannabis. The charges followed a joint drug interdiction operation at the airport on Tuesday, March 10.
Crisostomo had previously appeared before Chief Magistrate Ngaio Emanuel and had expressed an interest in pleading guilty. Given the significant quantity of drugs involved, the matter had been referred for committal proceedings, with the court ordering that it be fast-tracked.
The charges stemmed from a coordinated operation involving officers from the Narcotics Department, the Special Services Unit (SSU), the K-9 Unit, and the Customs Enforcement Unit. The officers conducted checks on arriving passengers at approximately 4:30 pm.
Crisostomo had arrived aboard Air Canada flight AC1832 from Toronto. Officers stopped and searched her, discovering 61 vacuum-sealed packages of cannabis concealed across two suitcases. The drugs were valued at $536,000 EC.
