A sombre mood hung over the Fort Charlotte area yesterday as (criminally-minded) friends of Samuel 'Ninety' Knowles remained in shock over his sudden extradition to the United States.
Knowles' mother Lucinda, who lives in Baldwin Avenue. was said to be particularly hurt by the government's decision to hand her son over to the US Drug Enforcement Agency.
[BahamasB2B Editor's Comment: We wonder if Mrs. Knowles was ever hurt by the destruction her son ravaged on the Bahamian society, or if she ever felt hurt by the murders her son ordered against rival dealers.]
"It is like a funeral there," a source told The Tribune; "People are disappointed that he was sent away like that.
"Lots of sympathisers have been calling at Mrs Knowles' house to commiserate with his famiiy. They are blaming the government for sending him away before all the court matters had been dealt with. They feel let down."
A youth in a Chinese restaurant said: "They carry our boy Ninety – he was good to us."
Friends now fear that Knowles' severe diabetes will worsen in the US penal system. "Everyone thinks that Ninety himself must feel betrayed and let down," said a source.
"You must remember that he did a lot for these people who are in power now. It is going to lose them a lot of votes. I feel that Alfred Sears (MP for Fort Charlotte) will be ditched at the next election."
One observer said, however, that emotions were mixed in the Fort Charlotte area. One woman said it was right that he should be sent away. She cited the death of her brother-in-law as a product of the drug era in Nassau.
Asked why they felt the government had suddenly decided to hand Knowles over, neighbours felt US pressure was responsible.
"The Tribune's story about the former ambassador, Richard Blankenship, calling for him to be extradited was one factor," said a source.
"The other was Foreign. Minister Fred Mitchell's reported snub of US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, I think it was felt something should be done to make up for that."
Knowles was taken from his cell at Fox Hill Prison on Monday and flown to Miami in a top-secret operation.
It was the end of a six-year legal battle during which Knowles hired some of the best lawyers available to keep him in the Bahamas.
But after the Privy Council's recent decision to reject a last-ditch appeal, there was little option but for the government to hand him over.
Knowles, who has been described as a "cocaine kingpin" by President George W. Bush, is wanted by the US on numerous drug charges.
Source: The Tribune
