A Port-of-Spain jury took less than a hour yesterday to convict a Wallerfield man and his pregnant ex-wife of trafficking more than $2 million in cocaine and marijuana.Dexter Brown stood silently in the Fifth Criminal Court after the nine-member jury returned with guilty verdicts against him and his ex-wife Nisha Outram.Outram did not take the verdicts as calmly as her ex-husband.
The mother of two, now four months pregnant, had to be consoled by female police officers after she erupted in a teary uproar upon hearing the jury's decision.She then had to be forcibly removed from the court after refusing to be led out immediately after the case was adjourned.Outram's mother, who was standing outside the court, fainted minutes after hearing the verdicts.
Brown and Outram were before Justice Hayden St Clair-Douglas accused of marijuana and cocaine trafficking. The couple, married at the time, was arrested at their farm at Brazil Road, Wallerfield, on November 6, 1999.During the trial, the State's main witness, retired police Sgt Neville White, testified that during the raid on the couple's farm, he and other police officers found more than 300 kilos of marijuana and cocaine.
White said he and his officers had performed surveillance exercises on the couple's property for some time before the raid. "Wallerfield is a farming area and there was no farming taking place on that property," he said.The retired officer said that on the day of the raid, he and his officers surrounded the house and peeked through a window.
White said while looking through the window, he saw the couple sitting in their living room. Brown was eating fast food and Outram weighing the drugs on a market scale. White said while observing the duo for a couple of minutes, Outram noticed their (the police) presence and alerted Brown.
The officers then identified themselves, searched the house and arrested the couple. The total weight of the marijuana was 612 lbs. The State is also alleging that 24 pounds of cocaine and a quantity of local and foreign currency were found in the house.White said a while later, while being interrogated, Outram admitted that she and Brown were selling the drugs to pay for their farm.
They were represented by Ravi Rajcoomar and John Heath, while prosecutor Jennifer Martin represented the State.The couple will be sentenced by St Clair-Douglas on April 18.
