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A Chaguanas labourer charged with cocaine trafficking in 2015 has had the case dismissed by an Arima magistrate after the police officer who laid the charge repeatedly failed to attend court.

On January 26, Magistrate Wendy Dougdeen-Bally dismissed the case against Floyd Braithwaite for want of prosecution, citing persistent non-compliance by the prosecution with the court’s directions.

In brief reasons, Dougdeen-Bally noted that the charging officer, PC Akeil Lee, failed to appear on consecutive occasions and offered no reasonable explanation for his absence. She also pointed out that there had been no further disclosure of evidence to the defence more than four and a half months after the last disclosure, and that witness statements remained unsworn.