Undocumented man, who ‘snitched’ against notorious Jamaican drug lord, facing deportation
An undocumented Jamaican man, who helped bring one of the world's most dangerous drug lords, is fighting deportation, which he says will lead to his death.
An undocumented Jamaican man is facing some life-threatening risks if he is deported back to his home country after cooperating with the U.S. government to take down a well-known drug kingpin.
The man, only known as Sean B. in court records, helped officials in a case against Christopher “Dudus” Coke and admitted in a sworn statement that he will be six-feet under if he sets foot back in Jamaica, the NY Daily News reports.
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“If I return to Jamaica, I am dead as soon as I get off the plane. I testified against one of the most powerful men in Jamaica,” Sean B. said.
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“Being a snitch in Jamaica is one of the worst things you can do and I am branded as one for the rest of my life. I will be killed in Jamaica if I return,” he added.
Life comes at you hard
Sean B. once worked as a general in Coke’s “Shower Posse Gang” and went by the name “cowboy.” After facing two deportations for illegally entering the United States and drug trafficking, he began cooperating with U.S. officials as a witness back in 2009 to build a case against Dudus. His reward was being able to work and stay in the U.S.
“[Sean] was a critical witness in the Coke investigation. He testified at great personal risk to himself and offered firsthand insight into Coke’s organization and how it operated in Jamaica and the United States,” said John Zach, federal prosecutor on the case.
His cooperation resulted in a search for Coke in 2010, which left 70 people dead, according to New Jersey District Judge Kevin McNulty. Two years later Coke was sentenced to 23 years in prison. Ever since, Sean B. has been labeled as a “marked man.”
“Since (Sean’s) testimony, his sister’s house was burned down, the house of his children’s mother was bombed, six of his cousins have been murdered, and his father was forced to flee the country,” McNulty wrote in a ruling Monday.
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Things became all too real when Sean B. when ICE deported him back to Jamaica on May 30. For three days, he tried to lay low, staying with close family and friends, but, according to his attorney, Gregory Copeland threats loomed every time he stepped outside. In one occurrence, he allegedly saw people waiting with an assortment of weapons.
“Sean jumped over fences, hopped in a cab and frantically called his legal team back in the U.S. from a payphone,” Copeland said.
Sean safely got away and has been back in ICE custody ever since. His bail hearing is set for next week in immigration court, which could lead him right back where he started in Jamaica.
