Vincentian diplomatic passport holder held on cocaine charges

by Norman 'Gus' Thomas
Caribbean Net News Special Regional Correspondent

Tuesday, December 14, 2004

LONDON, England:  London police have arrested a Canadian/ Vincentian for allegedly having one kilo of cocaine in his possession.

A source at the St. Vincent and the Grenadines (SVG) High Commission in London, confirmed to Caribbean Net News that one Reuben Morgan, the holder of a SVG diplomatic passport was indeed held by British police for having the drug on his person, having arrived in London enroute from Canada to attend the funeral of a family member.

A clearly embarrassed Ministry of Foreign Affairs official in Kingstown speaking with Caribbean Net News via the telephone, informed that the 70-year-old Morgan is indeed the holder of a SVG diplomatic passport and that the country's Minister with responsibility for Foreign Affairs, Louis Straker, in an attempt to lessen the impact of this embarrassment on the country, has instructed the SVG High Commission in London to "take back" the SVG diplomatic passport which was issued to Morgan in November of 2001, following the victory of Dr. Ralph Gonsalves' ruling United Labour Party (ULP) at the polls.

A further probe by Caribbean Net News revealed that Morgan has no official ties to the country's Foreign Affairs Department or Diplomatic Missions Overseas and Morgan has never had any diplomatic standing.

Meanwhile, Prime Minister Dr. Ralph Gonsalves has admitted that Morgan has worked for the government of St. Vincent and the Grenadines as he has assisted the country in dealing with several immigration problems. However, Dr. Gonsalves did not go any further to disclose the nature of Morgan's assistance. It is also not clear as to the reason why Morgan was issued with the SVG diplomatic document in the first place.

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