Jerry Hynds, the Mayor of Roatan, celebrated his birthday on Sunday, grateful of being freed from a charge of attempting to smuggle cocaine with a street value of $24 million onto the island.
Hynds, Jorge Bustillo, Efrain Sanchez and Francisco Gomez were all arrested on Aug. 27, in a police operation, charged with attempted drug trafficking of two tonnes of the class-A drug.
Prosecutors accused the mayor of guarding the haul into Roatan when security agents found 2,430 kilos of the substance inside a cistern that was travelling on the main street. His lawyers denied all charges, claiming Hynds was the victim of a vehicle error and confusion during the police operation.
After a long initial hearing in the capital Tegucigalpa, Hynds and Sanchez were given provisional dismissals on Saturday while the others were held in custody awaiting trial.
Provisional dismissal means a temporary file; although it closes, it is likely to be re-opened if new, relevant evidence is revealed.
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