‘Dead man’ found dead in Dominica
Rumors surrounding the whereabouts of Vincentian fugitive Cecil Boatswain should be put to rest now that a decomposing body believed to be that of Boatswain has been found in the Sultan area of Dominica.
Boatswain disappeared without a trace in 2006, hours after the East Caribbean Court of Appeal sitting in Dominica upheld a decision that he be extradited to the USA to face drug trafficking charges. {{more}}A woman who was with him on the evening of November 13th, 2006, at Brighton Salt Pond reported that Boatswain went for a swim and never returned.
US authorities claimed that Boatswain used women as mules to transport cocaine to New York, after women who were caught fingered Boatswain as the brainchild of the operation.
According to US law, anyone who exports more than four kilos of cocaine to the US is deemed a drug King-pin and would be liable to be sentenced to a maximum of life imprisonment if convicted.
The matter was first heard in the Kingstown Magistrateâs courts on May 4, 2006, where the Chief Magistrate Simone Churaman ruled that he be extradited to the US to face drug trafficking charges. His legal team of Arthur and Richard Williams and Bertram Stapleton appealed the decision, but it was upheld by High Court judge Frederick Bruce-Lyle on May 11. The matter was sent to the Court of Appeal on October 10, 2006.
Police Commissioner Keith Miller said that after Boatswain disappeared, his photograph was circulated all over the world by Interpol and the Vincentian police.
Commissioner Miller said that a preliminary identification of Boatswainâs body was made based on photographs and other documents sent to Dominica by the St Vincent and the Grenadines police after they heard that a body believed to be Boatswainâs had been found. Miller, however, admitted that he is still awaiting a forensic identification.
When Director of Public Prosecutions Colin Williams was contacted, he told SEARCHLIGHT that he didnât know what they used in Dominica for verification because when the Vincentian authorities had earlier told the Dominican authorities that Boatswain was in Dominica they denied it. âThey couldnât find him. Now all of a sudden he turns up dead, a decomposing body at that,â he further stated. Williams also said that knowing Boatswainâs resources, he wouldnât be surprised if he is found dead a third time.
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