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TOFF IN THE DOCK

Bizarre moment British aristocrat Jack Marrian – who went to school with Kate Middleton – is confronted with £4.5million of cocaine ‘he smuggled into Kenya’

THIS is the bizarre moment a British toff was confronted with the £4.5million of cocaine he is accused of smuggling into Kenya.

Cocaine dusted the vinyl flooring of the drab conference room at Nairobi's CID headquarters as Kenya's top narcotics cop sliced open bag after bag of the drugs.

Sugar trader Jack Marrian, the 31-year-old grandson of the sixth Earl Cawdor, covered his face with a mask and rocked back and forth in his chair as drugs officer Hamisi Massa exhibited evidence in the drug smuggling case.

 Jack Marrian looked distraught as he appeared in court today
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Jack Marrian looked distraught as he appeared in court todayCredit: Getty Images
 Jack Marrian, the 31-year-old grandson of the sixth Earl Cawdor, covered his face with a mask as drugs officer Hamisi Massa exhibited evidence
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Jack Marrian, the 31-year-old grandson of the sixth Earl Cawdor, covered his face with a mask as drugs officer Hamisi Massa exhibited evidenceCredit: Getty Images

On Friday, the second trial day, the court relocated to the Department of Criminal Investigations in order to witness the seized cocaine, all 90 packages.

The packages were found on a Wednesday in late July stashed in seven sacks hidden inside a container of Brazilian sugar at Mombasa port.

Marrian, the managing director of the company that had imported the sugar, was charged eight days later along with his clearing agent Roy Mwanthi. Both men deny the charges.

The case has attracted attention largely because of Marrian's lineage: he is the son of a British aristocrat whose family owns Cawdor Castle, the legendary home of Shakespeare's Macbeth, and he went to school with Kate Middleton, the Duchess of Cambridge.

 Cocaine dusted the vinyl flooring of the drab conference room at Nairobi's CID headquarters as Kenya's top narcotics cop sliced open bag after bag of the drugs
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Cocaine dusted the vinyl flooring of the drab conference room at Nairobi's CID headquarters as Kenya's top narcotics cop sliced open bag after bag of the drugsCredit: Getty Images

Defence lawyer Andrew Wandabwa today picked holes in the prosecution's allegation that Marrian was the owner of the cocaine, as well as the sugar.

While cross-examining prosecution witness Massa, the defence lawyer drew the court's attention to the presence of a duplicate seal found inside the shipping container along with the cocaine.

Wandabwa said this was “the hallmark” of a style of smuggling known as “rip-on, rip-off”, whereby cartels place their illicit cargo inside a legal consignment shipped by an unwitting owner.

“Would you agree the smoking gun, as far as the owner of the drugs is concerned, is that unused seal?” Wandabwa asked.

“Probably, yes,” Massa replied. “People could be using the transactions of others to transact illegal business without the knowledge of the owner.”

 Jack Marrian, the managing director of the company that imported the sugar, was charged eight days later along with his clearing agent Roy Mwanthi. Both men deny the charges
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Jack Marrian, the managing director of the company that imported the sugar, was charged eight days later along with his clearing agent Roy Mwanthi. Both men deny the chargesCredit: Getty Images

The sugar and cocaine were packed at Port of Santos in Brazil then shipped to Kenya via Valencia, Spain.

Spanish police and the US Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), which tipped-off Kenyan authorities, believe the drugs were destined for the European market but something went wrong and they were not off-loaded in Spain as planned.

Nevertheless, Marrian and Mwanthi were arrested and charged after their names were seen on shipping documents.

Magistrate Derrick Kuto later adjourned the case until January 19 when it will resume at Kibera law courts


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