St John’s Antigua – Suspended Superintendent Ray John and his co-accused, Shakema Charles, will once again have to answer allegations of passport fraud in the High Court after Magistrate Dexter Wason rejected their no-case submission this morning.

The duo, accused of conspiring with Vincentian resident Lonzel Jones and others to forge bio pages for Antigua and Barbuda passports, had sought to have the charges dismissed, arguing that reopening the case amounted to an abuse of process.

John and Charles’ defence attorneys, Hugh Marshall Jr and Michael Archibald, contended that the prosecution should have appealed the earlier dismissal of the case by High Court Justice Tunde Bakre in January 2024, rather than pursuing a retrial. They also argued that certain charges in the case were minor and should have been handled in the Magistrates’ Court.

Justice Bakre had previously thrown out the case, agreeing with the defence that the charges were improperly brought before the court. However, the Director of Public Prosecutions successfully sought a retrial.

In the current proceedings, John and Charles face multiple charges, including two counts each of conspiracy to forge passport bio pages using unauthorized Multi-Layered Infilling Sheets (MLIS). John also faces charges of receiving property linked to the alleged forgery scheme.

Despite the defence’s arguments, Magistrate Wason sided with the prosecution, paving the way for the case to proceed to a committal hearing on January 29. This means the matter will once again be brought before a High Court judge for a fresh trial unless the accused admit to the allegations.

John and Charles remain on bail as they await their next court date, where their fate will be decided in what has become a prolonged and contentious legal matter.