A Corentyne man who turned himself in to Customs Anti-Narcotics Unit (CANU) was today slapped with a trafficking of narcotics charge.
Omesh Lakeram of Lot 111 Number 68 Village Corentyne, Berbice, was granted bail by Magistrate Alex Moore when he appeared at the Number 51 Magistrate’s Court. He pleaded not guilty to a trafficking narcotics charge.
The charge states that on May 11, at Number 68 Village Beach Front Corentyne, Berbice, he trafficked 94 kilograms of cannabis.
Lakeram was represented by attorney-at-law, Bernard DaSilva, who made a successful bail application. Lakeram was placed on $150,000 bail with the condition that he reports to the Springlands police station once a month.
The matter was transferred to the Springland Magistrate’s Court for August 6.
CANU had issued a wanted bulletin for Lakeram after the narcotics were found and seized following several days of surveillance in Number 68 Village, Corriverton, Berbice. Lakeram, accompanied by his attorney, turned himself in at the CANU headquarters yesterday.
In a statement to the press, CANU said its officers observed about three to four individuals with flashlights in the wee hours of the morning coming through a track close to where they were positioned. They also observed two lights on a vessel coming just off the shoreline.
It said that as the individuals were approaching the location, the officers identified themselves and called out to the persons to stop. CANU said the persons quickly dropped what they were carrying and scattered in different directions. The officers were unsuccessful in their pursuit of the individuals and discontinued their chase for safety reasons.
The officers then returned to the spot where the items were dropped and discovered four bags with several parcels inside. The bags were transported to CANU’s headquarters where they were processed. The result was 80 parcels of marijuana weighing 207 lbs or 94 kilograms.
