A senior Antigua and Barbuda Defence Force officer told the High Court that a camouflage uniform linked to the killing of Customs official Nigel Christian could not have been obtained by civilians and must have come from within the military.

The evidence emerged on the 14th day of the trial of Saleim Harrigan, Wayne Thomas and Lasean Bully, who are charged with abducting and killing Christian in July 2020.

The officer explained that two military-style uniforms recovered during the investigation were examined.

One medium-sized digital camouflage outfit bearing “ABDF” woven into the fabric was confirmed to be genuine and part of a design introduced by the Defence Force in 2018. A second, larger uniform was determined to be an imitation.

He said authentic uniforms are issued internally to units and are not available for public purchase.

The recovered garment carried no name identifying its wearer, and the officer said he was unaware whether any internal review was conducted to determine how it left military control.

The court also heard continued cross-examination of a forensic officer about evidence handling.

Defence attorneys questioned the lack of tyre mark documentation, the disposal of material placed beneath the victim’s vehicle during examination, and the drying of clothing items in a shared area where they could have come into contact with each other.

The officer acknowledged that some garments appeared to be touching in photographs and said she did not keep records of gloves used during collection or know whether gunshot residue tests were conducted.

Before proceedings ended, a crime scene manager briefly began describing items recovered from the Thibou’s area and from Christian’s abandoned vehicle in Cassada Gardens.

Prosecutors allege the three men abducted Christian from his McKinnons home on July 10, 2020 and later shot him on a dirt road in Thibou’s. The trial continues.