Suspects (from left) Baktash Akasha, Vijaygiri Goswami, Gulam Hussein and Ibrahim Akasha (partly hidden) with their Lawyer Cliff Ombeta at Mombasa Law Courts on January 23, 2017. PHOTO | KEVIN ODIT | NATION MEDIA GROUP
The four men were clad in prison uniforms resembling hospital scrubs, the protective garment worn by doctors and nurses in operating theatres.
The pre-trial hearing before Judge Victor Marrero lasted about 25 minutes. It focused on setting a schedule for “discovery” – a term in US law referring to the assembling of evidence in a case that can then be exchanged between prosecutors and defence attorneys.
Discovery will prove to be a complex process in this instance, assistant federal prosecutor Michael Lockard told Judge Marrero.
NEW YORK
The Akasha brothers and two co-defendants charged with conspiring to smuggle heroin into the United States (US) were taken to a federal courtroom in New York on Friday wearing handcuffs attached to a chain around their waists.
