Brown case moves closer to extradition

The Brown brothers, Andrew and Floyd, experienced a pair of setbacks today in Magistrate’s Court that places them that much closer to extradition to the United States. Today the pair appeared in the court of Chief Magistrate Herbert Lord, where their lead attorney, Dean Barrow, dropped something of a bombshell when he conceded that Floyd Brown was in fact the same Jaswan Brown named in the U.S. extradition request. Previously Barrow had maintained that the U.S. government had identified the wrong man when it presented documentation seeking Jaswan and not Floyd. The defence also took a hit when Lord denied its request to have the Browns tried jointly instead of individually. In delivering his ruling, the Chief Magistrate noted that since the case was initiated against the men individually it would be best to proceed that way.

Andrew and Floyd Brown were indicted by a Florida grand jury in connection with importation of forty-two pounds of cocaine into Port Everglades in 1999. Another Belizean, Steve Reneau, was picked up by U.S. authorities on similar charges last week as he landed at Miami International Airport.