A BRITISH man went on trial for manslaughter yesterday after a tragic chain of events led to the death of an innocent cab driver from a cocaine overdose.
Lascell Malcolm died after he inadvertently drank a potent liquid form of the drug from a fake rum bottle given to him as a gift.
The prosecution claims the accused, Martin Newman, was a drug smuggler whose “gross negligence” in importing the cocaine makes him responsible for the death.
The court heard Newman managed to mislead three fellow-travelers into carrying three bottles of Bounty Rum for him on a flight from St Lucia, to London last year.
Each bottle was laced with around a quarter of a kilo of cocaine, worth approximately £15,000 (nearly $26,000) on the street.
One of the three passengers was unable to find Newman following their arrival in London and passed the bottle on to another traveler.
In turn, she gave it to a taxi driver Mr Malcolm who accepted the bottle as payment for the ride.
He then drank from the bottle, causing his fatal heart attack from a cocaine overdose.
Oliver Glasgow, prosecuting, told the court: “The mixture had never been intended to be drunk, since with the cocaine within it, it was lethal – a teaspoon would be enough to cause an overdose.”
The bottle almost claimed a second victim, when a friend of Mr Malcolm’s drank from it in a toast to him and ended up in hospital needing urgent medical attention.
Newman denies manslaughter and importing Class A drugs. The trial is set to last for two weeks.
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