Prosecutors have dropped immigration charges that were brought against dancehall veteran Elephant Man in 2020.
On Tuesday, the dancehall deejay had all charges against him dropped after appearing at the Kingston and St Andrew Parish Court.
Elephant Man was facing charges of making a false declaration to Jamaica’s immigration authorities in 2020 when he failed to disclose that he had traveled to Europe, which was on a list of high-risk countries for the Covid-19 pandemic.
Travelers to the country were required to declare that they visited the country, and they correspondingly had to quarantine, which many persons at the time tried to escape from.
Elephant Man’s attorney, Christopher Townsend, confirmed that the case came to an end and the artist was pleased.
“The evidence that the Crown is relying on is insufficient to prove the case in relation to the charges before the court. The prosecution agreed with us and they offered no evidence on the indictment. So Elephant is free and he’s ecstatic,” Townsend said to Nationwide Radio.
Elephant Man and several others were charged in 2020, and after arriving on the island, they were seen out and about despite being seen on video performing in Germany.
In the meantime, the Disaster Risk Management Act under which the charges were laid has been suspended as Jamaica returned to a state of normalcy free of curfews and Covid-19 restrictions.
Despite that, many people are still appearing before the courts in ongoing cases for mask-wearing and curfew breaches.
