Another Adjournment in Andrew Bennett’s Extradition Hearing

Andrew Bennett

Attorney Andrew Bennett was back in court today where he continued to defend against an extradition request by the U.S. government.  In the courtroom of Chief Magistrate Sharon Frazer this morning, Director of Public Prosecutions Cheryl Lyn Vidal and attorney Anthony Sylvestre, who is representing Bennett, went back and forth over legal documents that were not initially included in the extradition bundle.  In the end, the Chief Magistrate agreed to have the document admitted into the proceedings by June fourth.  Bennett has been fighting tooth and nail to avoid being extradited to the United States where he is wanted for his alleged role in a money laundering operation which was purportedly being conducted on behalf of a drug trafficking ring.

Anthony Sylvestre

Anthony Sylvestre, Attorney for Andrew Bennett

“We returned to court this morning to have the issue which on last occasion the defense had brought to the attention of the court that one of the central documents which ought to have been in the extradition bundle which is in the possession of the court was not in the bundle.  Since that time, the government of the United States, the legal representative has actually been bolstered and so now we have the Director of Public Prosecution who has carriage of the matter.  And so, we were in court this morning and we were discussing and making submissions on that issue and the learned Chief Magistrate concluded that in the interest of justice she would allow the government to have that document which was omitted for it to find its way in the court’s possession whether it be by way of having a witness being brought or, I’m not quite sure what may be the procedure that will be employed hereafter by the government but suffice it to say that that is where we are and so next Tuesday we continue and we will see how the government intends to have that document be admitted into evidence or be tendered into evidence.”