A Trinidadian man, who pleaded guilty in July 2005 to drug-related charges and was sentenced to five years' imprisonment, almost completed serving the sentence while waiting to have his appeal heard.
Sheldon Adimoolah, a 32-year-old mason, had given notice of appeal when he was sentenced on July 13, 2005. He said in court documents that he appealed his case on July 22, 2005 "but, unfortunately, the appeal seemed not to have been lodged in the appeals court".
Adimoolah made a written request this year to the Court of Appeal Registry for his appeal to be withdrawn because he wanted to go back to his country.
The notes of evidence from the Corporate Area Resident Magistrate's Court concerning Adimoolah's appeal, were not sent to the Court of Appeal registry until last week Friday.
Further checks
A letter from the Correctional Services Department disclosed that Adimoolah's notice of appeal was filed on July 22, 2007, and was received at the RM Court on July 28, 2007. The letter disclosed that further checks were made at the court's office and the department was informed that the attempts were being made to locate the Resident Magistrate's notes.
The appeal came up for hearing on Monday when Adimoolah appeared before the court and indicated that he was not pursuing the appeal. He said he was treated well in prison.
The Court of Appeal ordered that his sentence should run from July 13, 2005.
Adimoolah was arrested on July 11, 2005, shortly after he arrived at the Norman Manley International Airport from Trinidad. He was searched and a package containing four and a half pounds of cocaine was found in a false compartment in his luggage.
He was charged with possession of cocaine, dealing in cocaine and attempting to import cocaine. He pleaded guilty to the charges when he appeared in the Corporate Area Resident Magistrate's Court on July 13, 2005.
He was sentenced five years' imprisonment for attempting to import cocaine and also fined a total of $650,000 or six months' imprisonment. The RM had ordered that if the fines were not paid, Adimoolah would have to serve an additional six months in jail.