Another Haitian police official arrested
Thursday, July 8, 2004
MIAMI, USA (UPI): A complaint filed in U.S.
District Court in Miami alleges that a former Haitian National Police
commander shook down drug smugglers for thousands of dollars.
Romaine Lestin, who was in charge of law enforcement at the Port-au-Prince
airport, was formally charged in Miami federal court with drug smuggling
conspiracy, The Miami Herald reported. Lestin
was expelled Friday by the Dominican Republic. He did not enter a plea to the
charge in Miami and asked for a court-appointed lawyer.
He is being held without bond, but there will be a hearing on that issue
Friday. His arraignment is set for July 20.
He was one of several Haitian officials arrested in an investigation of drug
activity during the regime of President Jean-Bertrand Aristide. They included
Aristide's former security guard, a senator and four senior national police
officers. The DEA said an informant told them
that Lestin used his "position at the Port-au-Prince airport to facilitate the
flow of drugs out of Haiti."
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