By Lloyd Williams, Senior Associate Editor
Following is the third
instalment of a four-part series in which Lloyd Williams
looks at the operations of the controversial, disbanded Special Intelligence Group which was headed by Roderick "Jimmy" McGregor.
THROATIE, IN his report of Monday, June 12, 2000, said that while he was at home shortly after midnight on Monday, June 12, 2000, the lawyer visited him and told him to follow him to a house in San San (the same one where he had left the air-conditioning units) as Carlos wanted to speak with him.
On arrival there he saw two police cars. He went in the house with the lawyer and saw the policeman he had picked up the air-conditioning units from and the one he had delivered the cocaine to. The one he had picked up the air-conditioning units from was speaking on the phone and he then switched to the speaker-phone mode.
Throatie: The person on the other end of the phone started to talk. I recognised the voice to be that of Carlos whom I have been conversing with on the telephone for the past two months, sometimes two or three times each day.
"Carlos said:
'...(Throatie) I should tell you this from long time, if anything go wrong, not that I expect anything to go wrong, you have to take the rap and go to jail and I will take care of everything, your family, while the court proceeding is going on; you are not to worry about the police because... (the senior police officer, already named) will take care of the police.'
Assurance
"I told them that I would have to get some assurance from him to ensure that everything would be all right. He told me that he worked on that already and everything is in place for me to know what will be done. He told me to check on a house at Mount Pleasant to ensure that everything is all right. He told me that he had 500 key (kilos) of cocaine at the house and that I should go there and ensure that the house had not been broken into. He told me that I should report to Mr.... (the laywer) on the condition of the house on Tuesday morning. Carlos then hang up the telephone and everybody in the room said goodbye and left."
He said that later that day, a man he knew told him to check with Carlos at the Port Antonio marina. He drove to the marina where he saw Carlos and the policeman he had taken the air-conditioning units from, drinking at the bar.
Throatie: I went up to Carlos, he told me that he liked how I move around and no one is able to pinpoint any exact place where I locate at any particular time. He told me to come with him up to his house at San San because he had some people that he wanted us to do something with. I went with Carlos in the vehicle that he drove...
Throatie said that on arrival at Carlos's house he saw four men sitting in the living room, eating Kentucky fried chicken. "Carlos said to the men, 'Gentlemen get on wid it because I don't have much time, and I have business to take care of.'
"Carlos told me that the men were going to take some pictures of me and him together and some with me alone. Carlos told me that the men were police officers so I should not worry. I asked Carlos why they were taking the pictures and he told me, as a precaution.
"The police took three photographs of Carlos and I and three of me by myself all posing in the living room...One of the police then told me that his boss need the picture and that they were taken as a precaution. Another of the policeman said to me, 'Remember don't ... else you know what will happen and don't let anybody know what is going on.' After the conversation, the men who were introduced to me as police, and Carlos went into (Carlos's pick-up truck) and drove away.
Throatie's report of Wednesday, June 14, 2000, said that around 12.45 a.m. that Wednesday, the Superintendent of Police who Carlos had mentioned to him on June 5, and the subofficer he had taken the cocaine to at the police station, visited him at home in the same SUV, he (Throatie) had transported the cocaine in. The subofficer told him to come with them to go to the lawyer's house for a pick-up truck "because we would be going for something down by the beach." He said that at the house he saw the pick-up with the key in the ignition. He drove the pick-up behind the vehicle in which the Superintendent and the subofficer were travelling, to Winnifred Beach, Fairy Hill.
Cars
Throatie: On arrival at the beach about 1 a.m. 14/6/2000, I saw four white cars; none of them had on any licence plate. Carlos, came up to the pick-up that I drove, with a man from the Bahamas who is known to me as "Ninety". Carlos told me that he was sorry for the sudden call but the men came without alerting him before.
"I saw two speedboat docked on the reef and one on the shore. Carlos told me that cocaine was on the boat to be taken to his house in San San and time was against them. Four persons help to place 20 cartons boxes filled with the cocaine on the pick-up. These were taken off the boat which was at the shore when I arrived. The persons who unloaded the boat are ... (the Superintendent), Carlos, Ninety and myself.
"After the boxes were loaded all four of us cover the pick-up with a tarpaulin. I drove the pick-up to Carlos house. A car drove behind me at a good distance; when we arrived at Carlos house the car came up to the house and two persons came out. One of the person who came out is one of the policemen who took my photograph along with Carlos on Monday 12/6/2000. He is the tall brown policeman; both persons who came into the car help me to unload the cocaine from the pick-up and carry them inside the house. We placed them in the living room. We returned to the beach ...in about 25 minutes.
The boat
"On our return, the empty boat was on the shore, Carlos, ... (the Superintendent), Ninety, and... the captain of the boat was also on the beach. ...(the subofficer and some other police was also there. There was also a big fat policewoman; Carlos told me that I should go and look at the class of the boat that he had and make sure that the fifteen boxes that were left on the boats were taken off. I went on the boat with ... and go to the reef where the other two were docked. I board a white speedboat which I was told belong to Carlos; I saw four men on the boat, two white men that I don't know and had never seen before...
"The boat that I board is white with two engines at the back. There are two poles in the air with two Jamaican flags, one on each...
"The other boat was very close to Carlos, and I was able to see the word 'Police' mark on it. There was bright moonlight and I was able to identify one of the policeman as someone who lives at ... I have seen him on many occasions but I don't know his name...
"All four of us on Carlos boat put the fifteen boxes that contain the cocaine into the boat that brought me out to the reef. Whilst doing so two boxes fell into the water; one of the box was well soaked by the time they were retrieved. One box containing 25 kilograms of cocaine. I know cocaine, I have seen it on many occasions; I have unload it from boat on several occasions for Carlos. I know how they are labelled and wrapped for transhipment to preserve them against water. The packages that I saw were tightly wrapped with waterproof plastic and brown cellophane tape.
Cocaine
"After the 15 boxes were loaded I return to the boat with.. and went back to shore. The packages containing the cocaine were unloaded from the boat on to the pick-up by... (the Superintendent) Carlos, Ninety and myself. Carlos then gave the package containing the 25 kilogram which had fallen into the water to the police and told them to see if they could make anything out of it. The policemen started to share them each taking three or four packages.
"Carlos came into the pick-up with me. We were joined by Ninety, I drove the pick-up to Carlos house at San San. Carlos and I removed the boxes with the cocaine from the pick-up and placed them in a room."
Throatie said that Carlos told him to drive to Montego Bay, the same vehicle the policemen who had photographed him, had driven in. He said that on arrival in Montego Bay they went to a hotel which Carlos and Ninety entered, leaving him in the vehicle. "Ninety returned a few minutes later and told me that Carlos said that I should come... I went into a room at the hotel with Carlos and Ninety.
"I saw Carlos counting United States money with a machine. He told me to write the amount when he count each pack. When he was done the money amount to two million seven hundred and forty thousand (US$2,740,000). Carlos packed the money in a suitcase and gave it to Ninety. Ninety told Carlos he would come up with the rest by Saturday evening. Ninety then placed the money in a white car and returned to the bar.
"Carlos told me that he was suppose to get five million US dollars and that I would get my portion between Sunday and Monday. Carlos gave me one thousand Jamaican dollars and told me to buy gas and take back the Mitsubishi van to Portland. I left Carlos and Ninety at the bar... I drove to Portland and parked the vehicle at Carlos house at San San".
Throatie, in another report, said that on the morning of Thursday, June 16, 2000 someone told him that the lawyer wanted to see him. He drove to the lawyer's office and he spoke with the lawyer on the phone. The lawyer told him to go to a guesthouse in Ocho Rios where someone was awaiting him. The lawyer's employee gave him $500 and he bought gas and drove to Ocho Rios. At the guesthouse he told a security guard that he was there to see someone. The security guard said that "someone is there awaiting someone but how will he know that it is me, and then told me to wait. He then went up to the guesthouse for about 5 minutes and returned. He then asked me if my name is ... (Throatie) I said yes, he asked me if I had a half of a $US and I showed it to him. He then told me to go to the bar (where) I will see two men sitting, they were awaiting me.
"I went straight to the bar where I saw Carlos and Ninety sitting around the counter drinking Appleton and Coke. Carlos on seeing me called me. When I went up to him he placed his left hand on my shoulder and asked me what I am drinking. I told him fruit punch and he asked the bartender to prepare one for me. Carlos then told me to take the fruit punch from the bartender and follow him to a table around the corner.
"When we were seated at the table he told me that he wants me to do something very important for him. I asked him what it is and he told me that he is going to pay me ten thousand US dollars to put three shots in someone's head for him.
"I asked him who and he told me that two white men are coming on Saturday night from England, persons who are known to me and that he want me to kill the younger one because the older one is very important to him, and he is more important than his wife to him now and what do I think about it. I told him that I will deal with it when the time comes.
Serious
"He replied that he will see how serious I am, and then Ninety joined us at the table. Ninety said to me that he will see how serious I am because I am always behaving serious. I then observe Carlos with a black pouch which he placed on the table. He then opened the pouch and took out a gun. The gun had two brown wooden handles, the body was painted black and the magazine was extended from the handle. He also took out a black round pipe object and screwed it on to the mouth of the gun. He told me that whenever the gun fires, I will hear no sound coming from it and that it has never been fired before.
"Carlos then removed the magazine and the round from the head, handed the gun to me and asked me how it feels. I told him it feels like it's mine. He then took back the gun and placed it in the pouch and asked me if I have ever played chicken before; I told him no and asked what it meant. He said two men driving two cars at full speed heading for each other, the first to turn is the chicken... On leaving he told me to keep in touch with..." (the lawyer).
TOMORROW:
The Bahamas connection
