Fugitive Rick Gomes is on his way to Trinidad to face a second trial for trafficking cocaine. Gomes lost his final appeal before the British House of Lords in London. Two policemen left yesterday to escort Gomes back to Trinidad. The Law Lords—Phillips, Rodger, Brown, Mance and Neuberger—threw out Gomes’ last challenge, saying the wanted man was the author of his own delay.

According to Lord Brown, “An accused who deliberately fled from a jurisdiction where his trial was pending was not generally entitled to rely on the passage of time due to the delay of the extraditing state in bringing him to justice as a bar to his extradition.”
Gomes was represented by Edward Fitzgerald, QC, and Ben Cooper, while Mark Summers appeared for the T&T Government. Brown said Gomes was wanted by T&T for trial on a charge of possession of cocaine for the purpose of trafficking.

Gomes was arrested in the UK, after the extradition request, and had unsuccessfully argued at his extradition hearing that it would be unjust or oppressive to extradite him by reason of the passage of time since his alleged offence 11 years ago. At the trial in 1999, Justice Herbert Volney upheld a no-case submission and discharged Gomes. Two days later, despite being on bail for firearm and ammunition offences, and knowing also that the State was appealing the decision to discharge him on the possession charges, Gomes left Trinidad.

Subsequently, a retrial had been ordered on the possession charges. It had not been until June 2006 that his extradition had been requested. He claimed that a prospective defence witness had died in 2005. In his opinion, Brown said Gomes could not invoke the passage of time, lengthy though it was, since the alleged offences. He said there could be no question of regarding his extradition as either unjust or oppressive.

THE CASE

Gomes, then aged 35, was arrested with a man named Luis Blanco Gomez on May 15, 1998. Both were charged with possessing cocaine for trafficking and Gomes was charged additionally with a further similar count with possession of a firearm and ammunition. At the start of their joint trial on November 4, 1999, Volney severed the firearm and ammunition charges and at the close of the prosecution case on December 14, 1999, he upheld a defence submission of no case to answer and discharged both defendants.

Despite being bailed for the firearm and ammunition offences and knowing also that the State was appealing Volney’s decision to discharge him, Gomes left Trinidad on December 16, 1999, and notwithstanding efforts both locally and abroad, could not be located.

On February 11, 2000, the T&T Court of Appeal (CJ Michael de la Bastide, Sat Sharma and Mustapha Ibrahim) in Gomes’ absence, allowed the State’s appeal and ordered a retrial. A domestic arrest warrant was then issued. It was not until May 5, 2006, however, that Gomes was arrested, pursuant to the activation of an Interpol red notice, as he left an Air France aircraft at Heathrow. On June 5, 2006 T&T requested his extradition.