By Latrishka Thomas
Suspended senior police officer Ray John and his co-accused, Shakema Charles, are set to face trial at the end of the year for their alleged involvement in a passport scam dating back several years.
John, an assistant superintendent of police, and Charles, a former employee of the Antigua and Barbuda Passport Office, are accused of forging passports using unauthorised Multi Layered Infilling Sheets (MLIS) from the local passport office between October 28 2014 and April 6 2018.
The Vincentian-born policeman, who was 45 years old at the time of his arrest, is also charged with receiving.
In February 2021 both parties told the court that they did not commit the crimes and were given a trial date but several adjournments were made, pushing the trial back.
Changes have since been made to the indictment warranting the duo to be arraigned again. This is set to be done on December 12 and thereafter the trial is expected to begin.
John and Charles were initially charged alongside John’s mother, Yvonne Nickie, however the prosecution dropped the charges against her in July.
The alleged passport scam was uncovered early in April 2018 when police in St Vincent and the Grenadines intercepted a man at the airport with five bio pages of Antigua and Barbuda passports, among other items, to include a large quantity of cash.
The collaborative work between the police in St Vincent and Antigua and Barbuda led to ASP John’s arrest.