A 1996 arrest of two Colombians, an Ecuadoran and three Haitians ended in the acquittal and release of the defendants for lack of evidence after they had spent two and one-half years in detention. At a minimum, our case tracking system provided additional insights into the progress and ultimate disposition of drug cases, although its data is likely not complete. The majority of those arrested remain in pretrial detention. At least two-thirds of those arrested were charged with trafficking rather than drug use. However, most seem to be minor players.
Cocaine is by far the most frequent drug involved.
Patterns are similar in provincial jurisdictions, although a lower portion of arrestees seem to languish in prolonged pre-trial detention. For the years 1998-99, for example, a total of 70 were arrested in Jacmel, Aquin, and St. Marc, three coastal cities considered to have serious drug problems. Marc, by contrast, three cases went to trial and each of the three lead to a conviction. The poor record of prosecutions appears to arise from a number of factors. This problem seems less common in provincial cities.