For almost ten years, Noel Heath and Glenroy Matthew, better known as "Zambo" and "Bobo",

have escaped attempts by the United States to extradite them from their homes on the pretty little island of St. Kitts to face charges of cocaine trafficking. Their creative legal team has twice taken the case to the Privy Council in London, still the final appeal court for most of Britain's former Caribbean colonies. Both times, most recently last November, a panel of British law lords ruled that they should be extradited "with the utmost expedition".

"Zambo" and "Bobo" are well-connected in St Kitts. They have lived on bail for a decade, be fore being locked up last month. Their lawyers hit back with a habeas corpus writ, to be heard on January 18th. If that fails, the way is open for officials to put the two on a plane.

For reasons of principle, or of friendships in tight-knit communities, or both, Caribbean countries have been reluctant to extradite their own nationals. The Caribbean has also become something of a heaven for foreigners wanted elsewhere in the world. This may now change. The next important test comes in May, when the Privy Council will rule on Samuel "Ninety" Knowles, a Bahamian who has held out since 2000 against a charge by a grand jury in Florida.

Procedural complexities and powerful lawyers may still stop extraditions. In September in Belize, Dean Barrow, a lawyer who is also the leader of the parliamentary opposition, hedged an American attempt to extradite a drug suspect. He found mistakes in supporting paperwork, which excluded the use of vital wiretap evidence.

Extradition of foreigners, especially to their home country, is often easier. Viktor Kozeny, a Czech-born resident of the Bahamas, has been held in Nassau since October. He is wanted in New York for corruption stemming from the privatisation of Azerbaijan's oil company, and faces other charges in Prague.

Mr. Kozeny will fight hard. His lawyers include Philip Davis, a member of parliament for the governing party and former legal partner of the prime minister. Even so, the authorities seem reluctant to grant bail. Perhaps that is because Mr. Kozeny holds a pilot's licence and Irish and Venezuelan passports. He was once a diplomat for Grenada.

Non-citizens are sometimes simply expelled. Two Belizean women picked up $50,000 each on the Oprah Winfrey Show in October, their reward for spotting an alleged rapist from the United States who was sent home two days later for trial. It is rarely so quick or easy.

Noel Heath and Glenroy Matthew are probably

A．citizens of the U.S.

B．traffickers in Caribbean.

C．citizens of the U.K.

D．nationals in St. Kitts.