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Jamaican arrested in Florida
2011-04-05 10:49:52 | (0 Comments)
CMC – A Jamaican-born owner of a popular restaurant in Orange County, Florida, has been arrested by US federal authorities for using his business as “a front” for drug trafficking.
Mark Jathan, has been arrested for buying a kilo of cocaine and using his “Caribbean Cuisine” as “a show” for buying and selling drugs.
According to the criminal complaint, “suppliers would walk the drugs in the front door and they would go out the back door to waiting drug dealers”.
Police alleged that Jathan was the middleman and the complaint said that officers from the US Drug Enforcement Agency had set up a sting operation at Mark's Caribbean Cuisine in which an undercover informant showed up with a kilogram of cocaine.
Court documents showed that Jathan handed the informant about US$25,000 in cash, and, once the money changed hands, the agents “cuffed him”.
When asked about the bundles of cash, Jathan told them “the money was not his and that it belonged to someone who wanted to buy his business,” the complaint said.
Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) agents considered him an “upper level dealer”.
Jathan told reporters, his lawyer has stopped him from discussing details of the case.
However, he has said he did nothing wrong and is awaiting a court date.
He was released on a surety bond, meaning he did not have to pay anything, though his bond is set at US$50,000.